Star Ocean: Black Trilogy
by ShockBurst
Summary: Arthur, Iris and Lucia are siblings who argue with each other and barely get along. One day, a wormhole appears that sends the siblings into Hyda IV where they meet Fay and sophia. Now these siblings have to go with them in the hopes of returning home.
1. Surprise Attack

**Surprise Attack**

Inside of what appeared to be a big lobby, a young man walked tiredly to a chair and sat down to rest. He wore a white sleeveless shirt with a zipper in the center, brown baggy shorts and sandals. He brushed some strands of his blue hair out of his eyes. He exhaled the breath that he held for moments.

"_That last battle simulation was tough. Nothing I couldn't handle._" He thought. Suddenly, a medium-sized plastic cup hovered near his face. He looked up to see a young girl with brown hair wearing a pool robe holding two drinks, offering one to him. "Whoa!" He exclaimed.

"Here you go." She said, handing the drink to the boy.

"Ah, hi, Sophia…" The boy sighed. "You startled me. I thought you were swimming down at the beach."

Sophia glared at the boy. "I was waiting for you, but you never came!" She sat down next to him. "You said you'd play a few games and then head right over…"

The boy sipped his drink. "Uh… I'm sorry! I didn't plan on staying so long, but I kinda got sucked in…" He replied sheepishly.

"All right, well, that's what I thought happened." Sophia frowned. "Didn't you say you had 'tons of homework to do' before we came to Hyda, anyway?" She asked and stood up again.

The young boy arose quickly as well. "But I was fighting so well today! And I leveled up a lot too, you know." He said. The boy quickly realized his mistake and mentally slapped himself in the face.

"Yeah, yeah. How nice of you," Sophia replied with an upset tone. The boy winced. "Hmm, someone's in a bad mood today."

Sophia glared at the boy. "What do you expect? You'd rather play games than hang out at the beach with me!" The boy asked, "Sophia?"

"Hmph!" Sophia replied, turning her head. The boy raised an eyebrow. "You aren't… mad are you?"

"I'm not mad!" She replied sarcastically. The boy smiled sheepishly. "Do you…wanna go to the beach?"

. "I swam enough. While somebody I know was having the time of his life, playing games all by himself!" Sophia answered sarcastically, glaring at her oblivious friend.

The boy sighed. He felt bad enough already. "So… Do you want to take a walk through the hotel?" Sophia shook her head.

"Aww, come on. I bet it'll be fun. What do you say?" He pleaded. "No thank you. I don't feel like it." Sophia replied, shaking her head.

The boy knelt to his knees and begged, "C'mon! Please! Pretty please?" Sophia seemed to consider this. "Hmm, well, if you want to hang out with me that badly, I guess it's all right.."

The boy grinned. "Great, let's go. Time's a wastin'!" Sophia nodded. "Okay!" As they left the room, Sophia heard a small groan nearby.

"Fayt, what was that?" Sophia asked nervously. Fayt looked to her left and saw a young man sleeping in a chair. He looked to be around his age with messy black hair. The stranger wore a white shirt, a brown jacket, dark-blue jeans and black sneakers. Right now, the young man shook violently in his sleep.

"I wonder what's wrong with him?" Fayt asked, walking closer to the stranger. Sophia gave the young man a meaningful glance. "I think he's having a nightmare."

Fayt shook the stranger. "Hey! Wake up!" Suddenly the young man woke up screaming, surprising Fayt and Sophia. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were drowsy.

"_Where the hell am I?_" Arthur asked himself mentally. "_Last thing I remember, me and my sisters were arguing with each other. Next thing I know, a wormhole sucks us straight out of the living room to who knows where._"

"Are you all right?" Fayt asked, concerned. Arthur waved his hand dismissively. "I'm fine. I'm used to it."

"Are you sure?" Sophia asked. Arthur nodded. "_Those voices seem familiar. They look familiar as well. _"

Arthur yawned. "Say, could you tell me where I am? I'm still too drowsy to remember."

Sophia nodded. "That's understandable. You're in the lobby of the Grantier Resort Hotel on Hyda IV." Arthur scratched his eyes and stared with a surprised look on his face. "_Hyda IV! I'm in the Eternal Sphere in the game Star Ocean. Could that wormhole have taken me here?_"

Fayt noticed Arthur's expression. "Is something wrong?" Arthur shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing. Thanks for waking me up."

Sophia frowned. "Are you sure? You seemed to be having a nightmare." Arthur sighed. "Don't worry. I'm fine now, miss-"

"Esteed! My name's Sophia Esteed." Sophia said, bowing at Arthur. Fayt stepped forward, bowing as well. "I'm Fayt Leingod. It's nice to meet you."

"Name's Arthur Black. Nice to meet both of you." Arthur replied, bowing to both of them. "_It's those two, all right. Iris would never believe this._"

Arthur slapped his forehead. "_Shit! My sisters must've went through the wormhole as well. I have to find them and fast._" Unfortunately for him, Fayt noticed his reaction. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I kinda got into an argument with my sisters and they left our room in a rush," he sort of lied. "I tried to find them to apologize, but I got lost and ended up here. I must've fallen asleep while resting my legs."

Sophia frowned. "That's too bad. Tell you what; we'll help look for you sisters." The guys did a take. "But, Sophia, are you sure?" Fayt asked. Arthur held his hands up. "I don't want to impose."

Sophia nodded. "I insist. Besides, you might end up getting lost again." Arthur put his right hand behind his head sheepishly. "When you put it that way, how could I say no?"

Sophia grinned at Fayt. "We can also explore the hotel while were looking." Arthur turned to Fayt and asked, "Is that alright with you, Fayt?"

Fayt nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good." Sophia's smile brightened. "First, let's make a quick stop to my room."

"Sure. Let's go." Fayt said. Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Is it me or is Sophia too excited to simply explore the hotel?" He whispered.

"I think she's excited at meeting your sisters." Fayt whispered back. Arthur nodded. "Let's talk later." The three arrived at the transporter and went up the floors. Arthur had a lot in his mind and he wasn't looking forward to finding his sisters. But deep down, a part of him was actually enjoying this.

Both guys were waiting on both sides of Sophia's door. They seemed to be deep in thought. Arthur had his hand behind his head. "_I still can't believe I'm here in the game. Which means my sisters should be here as well._" However, Fayt tapped his foot impatiently. "_Boy, she sure is taking forever! I bet she's making me wait on purpose!_"

Sophia came out of her room, wearing a pink tank top and light-blue jeans. "Hi, Fayt! Hey, Arthur!"

"Yo," Arthur greeted. Fayt rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough! What were you doing all that time?" Sophia shrugged. "Just changing. I didn't take that long, did I?"

"Not that long. Just five minutes of our precious time." Arthur replied sarcastically. Fayt made a small chuckle. Sophia glared at Fayt. "Besides, you kept me waiting—how long was it?"

It was Arthur's turn to chuckle. Sophia smirked. "Serves you right!" Fayt sighed. "Right, right…" Sophia took Fayt's arm and tugged. "Shall we?"

"Okay, just don't yank my arm off!" Fayt replied. Arthur walked ahead of the two when he collided into someone. He was quick to regain balance, but the other person wasn't so lucky and fell on their butt to the floor.

"Sorry!" A feminine voice said. It turned out to be a little girl. Arthur helped her up. He took a good look at her and groaned. "Why am I not surprised?" Fayt and Sophia walked over to Arthur.

"Is she all right?" Sophia asked. Fayt noticed that the girl was younger with black hair tied in a low ponytail. She wore a white buttoned shirt, black shorts, black shoes, a strange, metallic wristband adorned with jewels of different colors and glasses that covered her dark-brown eyes. The girl smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Arthur shook his head. "Can't you be more careful, Lucia?" The girl, Lucia, frowned. "You're one to talk, Arthur." Arthur ignored her and turned to Fayt. "Fayt, Sophia. This is my youngest sister, Lucia."

Lucia's ears perked up at the word 'Fayt' and squealed. "Qh my god!" Arthur winced. "Don't do that! You know that hurts my ears." Sophia seemed worried. "What's wrong?"

Lucia pointed at Fayt. "His hair's blue. My favorite color." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Excuse me, but could I talk to you for a second?" He said, dragging Lucia farther down the hall, leaving Fayt and Sophia confused.

"What's wrong with you?" Arthur whispered. "Do you even know where we are?" Lucia stared at him. "Of course. We're in Star Ocean." Arthur quickly shushed her. "Not so loud. You don't want them listening, do you?"

Lucia looked back at Fayt and Sophia. "It's really them!" Arthur nodded. "Please, keep quiet of what you know of the game." Lucia grinned. "My lips are sealed, Bro!"

The siblings walked back to Fayt and Sophia. "Sorry about that! I was lecturing her." Fayt shrugged. "Don't worry about it." Lucia grinned. "Nice to meet you too, Fayt and Sophia."

"I see we've been introduced." Sophia noted. "So where do we go first?" Arthur asked. "Can we go to the beach?" Lucia asked excitedly. "Can we?"

"Yeah, I guess we could go there," Sophia replied and stared at Fayt, "I think you would need some air after playing all those games."

"Yeah. Okay, let's go." Fayt said. Arthur sighed. "Maybe I'll find my other sister there." The group took the transporters on the west side of the hall. They arrived on the lower floors and walked to the other side of the facility.

They met with a Tetrageniot staff employee standing beside the transporters. "Welcome to the Grantier Resort Hotel," She said. "Please come relax inside the hotel if you get tired out in the severe yet perfectly natural heat of this planet."

Arthur nodded his thanks and proceeded to the transporters with the others. They met with a blonde, human employee. Welcome to Hyda IV's natural beach, the pride of the galaxy," She said. "There are nothing but natural living organisms here, from the small creatures living on the seashore, to the fish swimming in the sea. Absolutely no holography, robotics, or artificial organisms are used."

"Thanks," Lucia replied with a smile. The group went outside and found themselves at the beach. Arthur found it to be more beautiful than in the game. As they walked and enjoyed the view, the group ran into a girl with fox tails. "The whole idea of coming to a resort planet is to stretch out your tail and relax," She said to herself. The girl turned and found the group in front of her.

"Oops," The girl said sheepishly. Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?" She shook her head. "It's nothing."

The fox girl started to leave, but she turned back. "You two be careful. My friend has got her mind set on hooking up with a hot guy. I can't figure out why she had to come all the way to Hyda just to do that."

"Thanks for the heads up," Fayt said. "We'll keep that in mind." The group resumed the walk until they reached the shore.

Lucia walked closer to the water. "Look, Sophia. The water's pretty up close." Sophia stood next to Lucia. "Yes, you can see various schools of fish here."

While the girls enjoyed looking at fish, the guys walked a bit farther until they ran into another girl. "Well, hello there! What can I do for you?" She said, looking at the guys. Arthur and Fayt couldn't help but feel uncomfortable near this girl.

"Say, you two are kind of cute. And kinda single, hmm?" She said. She kept staring at Fayt and Arthur with a flirty smile. The girl fanned herself with her hand. "You know, hanging out on this beach has got me as dry as a dog... How'd you two like to come up to my room for a little drinky?"

Fayt scratched his head. "Um, uh... drinky?" Fayt said in a surprised tone. Arthur just groaned. "This is just great."

"So this is where you two are?" A voice said. Arthur turned and saw Lucia and Sophia walking in their direction. Sophia showed up beside Fayt. "Fayt! You can't go around talking to just anybody! Gee!" She scolded, stomping her foot.

"Oh, Sophia." Fayt said startled. Sophia glared at him. "Oh, Sophia? Where's your brain, Fayt?" Arthur sighed. "This is going to end badly."

"Who're they? Your sisters?" The girl asked. Fayt had an idea. "The tall one is my girlfriend," He answered, turning to face the girl. "She's pretty cute, huh?"

Sophia stared at Fayt in shock. "Wha-? I... who? What was that? Whaaat?" Fayt calmed her down and whispered back. "Just play along." Sophia nodded. "Y-yeah. Okay." Lucia stood there, grinning. She was enjoying this.

"Well, anyway… Thanks for asking, but I'll have to pass." Fayt said. "Yeah, its fine. I understand." The girl said and turned to Arthur. "Hey, what about you? Would you like to come?"

Arthur shook his head. "No thanks." The girl walked closer to him. "Are you sure?" Arthur sighed. He hated people who couldn't get a hint. "I'm sure." She inched closer. "C'mon! We'll have the time of our lives."

"For the last time! No means no!" Arthur insisted, bluntly. The girl backed off and sighed. "Uhh, what a waste... Here I thought if I went to this EXPENSIVE resort I'd run into hot guys..." She glared at the two guys. "And when I finally find a guy or two who's my type, one's taken and the other one isn't even interested! Why do I always get the bad luck?"

The girl starts to walk in between Fayt and Sophia. "Excuse me?" she yelled. Fayt winced and moved back. "Thanks," She said and kept walking.

"Er, sorry, Sophia." Fayt said, embarrassed. "We didn't mean to drag you into this." Arthur replied. Sophia looked confused. "A-about what?"

"I mean… I know I just made up on the spur of the moment, but I shouldn't have said that" Fayt explained. "Ah, but if I hadn't said that, she wouldn't have backed off. Right? So…"

Arthur nodded. "He's right. Besides, she came to us." Lucia rolled her eyes. "Really? Cause it sure doesn't look like it."

"You surprise me. I mean, you, my boyfriend?" Sophia said, flustered. "Sorry." Fayt replied. "Don't worry, I don't mind. After all... It's not like I totally despise you, or anything." Sophia assured him.

Arthur chuckled. "I'm impressed, Fayt. There are very few men capable of saying no to a girl like that." He complimented Fayt. "You've shown an intellect and maturity that are lacking in people your age. I respect that a lot."

"Thanks. You did, too, "Fayt replied. Sophia nodded. "Yes, but you could have been a bit less blunt about it." Lucia laughed. "The day that happens is the day it'd snow on Hyda IV."

"That's right." A voice said. Arthur turned around and groaned. "Figures you'd say that." Fayt looked behind Arthur and saw a girl around Sophia's age with black hair that was shorter than Lucia's, but longer than Arthur's. She wore nearly all black clothing from her shirt to her skirt and even her boots. Arthur sighed. "So this is where you were, Iris."

Iris frowned. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Arthur?" Lucia groaned. "This is my big sister, Iris."

"Don't you mean the harpy, Luc?" Arthur remarked. Iris turned her head. "I'm sorry! What was that you said?"

"Nothing, Sis." Arthur insisted. Iris smiled. "Good." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Don't worry. I'll keep quiet about the game and its events as well."

"Hello! I'm Fayt Leingod!" Fayt said. Sophia stepped forward. "Nice to meet you. My name's Sophia Esteed."

"Nice to meet the both of you." Iris replied. "By the way, I happen to like your shirt, Sophia."

"Thank you." Sophia said. "And those boots look great on you." Iris grinned. "These old things?" Arthur rolled his eyes. "Figures they'd talk about clothes." Fayt nodded in agreement.

"Are you guys done?" Lucia asked, impatiently. Arthur sighed. He could tell that Lucia was more bored than impatient. Fayt shook his head and stared at a couple sitting under an umbrella near the seashore. His eyes widened in recognition. "Hey, look. It's mom and dad!"

The group ran to the couple. The woman, who was wearing a hat covering her blue hair, noticed Fayt. "Oh, Fayt! You finally decided to get some sun," She said. "You were playing that game, weren't you?"

"What if I was?" Fayt replied. "It's just something I like to do." The woman sighed. "I know, but… Couldn't you forget about the games for a while? At least while where on this trip?"

Fayt rolled his eyes. "Of course not! You don't see me telling you to forget your books!" Arthur resisted the urge to laugh. It was getting interesting. The woman groaned. "That's not the point. Don't you think it's unfair to Sophia, after she took the time to travel with us?"

Fayt sighed. "You don't have to lecture me like that. I'm not a kid anymore, you know."

The woman shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder... At least, I still think you're a child every time you get so defensive like this," She said. "Well, you should just be happy that I still take the time to talk to you about things like this. That just shows how much I really care about you."

"What's next? Tell you how to clean your room?" Arthur muttered sarcastically to Fayt and got elbowed in the stomach by Iris. The woman noticed the siblings besides Fayt and Sophia. "Fayt. Who are they, new friends of yours?"

Fayt laughed sheepishly. "Oh yeah. Arthur, Iris, Lucia, this is my mom, Ryoko Leingod." The siblings shook hands with Ryoko. "Nice to meet you." The siblings said at the same time.

Fayt pointed to the man besides Ryoko. "And over there is my dad, Robert Leingod. He's the leading authority in Symbological Genetics." He explained.

Arthur nodded. "Awesome!" Ryoko turned to Robert. "Dear! Say hello to Fayt's new friends!"

Robert turned his head and stared at the siblings. He looked at Arthur and his eyes widened in recognition. Robert got up from the chair and stood in front of Arthur, surprising everyone.

"Umm, do I have something in my face?" Arthur asked nervously, his right eye twitching.

Robert shook himself out of his daze. "I'm sorry! You just reminded me of an old friend." He commented with an apology. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Arthur."

"The pleasure is all mine." Arthur replied. Lucia stepped forward. "What now?" Sophia stood in thought. "Say, how about we go back inside?" She suggested.

Arthur scratched his head. "Sure, why not?" The group returned inside, using the transporters again.

The group walked through the hotel without any destination in mind. Arthur heard a groan from behind. He turned to see Iris frustrated. "Does anyone where we are or even where we're going?" She complained. Arthur rolled his eyes. "Relax! I know where we are."

"So, where are we?" Fayt asked. Arthur turned, looking at Fayt. "We're lost." He replied with a smirk. Lucia rolled her eyes. "Your jokes are as bad as ever."

They found themselves in standing in front of a door. "Maybe the people staying in the room could give us directions." Sophia suggested. Everyone agreed with her. As Fayt opened the door, Arthur couldn't help but smirk. He knew exactly what was going to happen.

The five went inside the room. However, it was unlike any hotel room they have ever seen in their lives. It appeared to be more like a dressing room filled with circus performers. One of them happened to be a lively girl with pigtails digging through a box of supplies.

That same girl turned around and 'greeted' the newcomers. "Whaaat? Who are you? This is the Rossettis' dressing room!" She stepped forward and looked at the group.

"Hmm? Oh, I know! You want my autograph, don't you!" The lively girl said, before staring at Fayt. "Ah well, gotta keep the fans happy… Usually, I'd be pretty mad if someone just came barging in like that, but you're so cute I'll make an exception this time."

The group just stood there, confused. "Ah… Umm… You said the Rossettis?" Fayt asked whimsically. The girl looked surprised. "What? You didn't know our troupe's name?" The group shook their heads. To their surprise, the girl just smiled. "Don't go forgetting it, now! Say, what's your name?"

"Fayt… But…" Fayt replied, reluctantly. Sophia stepped forward. "I'm Sophia." Arthur waved his hand. "Name's Arthur." Iris smiled. "My name is Iris." Lucia greeted the girl. "Hi, I'm Lucia."

"Right," the girl said. She skipped behind Fayt and pulled out a black marker. She starts to write and draw on his shirt. "To…my…darling…Fayt… From the Fairy of Illusions, Peppita Rossetti… All done!"

Arthur and the girls walked behind Fayt to see what happened. The girls stared in shock at the back of Fayt's shirt. "What the?" Sophia said. Iris and Lucia kept staring at the bad drawing of the girl herself with the words 'Peppita Rossetti' written in it. Arthur just laughed silently.

Fayt turned around and caught a glimpse of the drawing. "Ah… Hey! You can't just draw on somebody's shirt!" He said.

"I'm thinking she just did." Arthur sneered, only to get elbowed in the stomach by Iris. The girl was surprised. "Huh? What? I thought you wanted my autograph?"

Sophia shook her head. "Nobody said anything about wanting an autograph!"

The girlhad an expression of astonishment. "Huuuuh? But…I mean…wha? But I thought… Then…you want my mama's autograph? Or…my papa's?" She asked, narrowing her eyes lightly. "You can't want Gonnella the Clown's autograph, or Ursus the Strongman's…right?"

Fayt shook his head. "No, we're not really looking for anyone's autograph…" Iris nodded. "That's right."

The girl eyed the group suspiciously. "Huh! Well, what then…are you a salesman?" She said, eyeing Fayt. "Nah… Come to think of it, you look like the kinda guy who's never done an honest day's work in his life."

Arthur laughed. "And she said you were cute!" This earned him a glare from Sophia. Fayt was confused by the girl's statement.

"I know! You're to collect on a loan!" She remarked accusingly. "You're too early! That loan's good until the next month, they promised!"

"No… no! Who are the Rossetis, anyway?" Fayt asked. "And what's with this 'Fairy of Illusion' stuff?"

"Hmmmmmm…okay, soooo, umm… You three are just lost?" The girl said.

"Well, we're not really lost… We knew where we're going." Arthur lied quickly. His sisters glared at him, while Fayt and Sophia gave a meaningful glance.

"Oh no! You're robbers!" The girl said, worryingly.

"No, not that either." Iris replied. The girl stared at the group. "Then what are you? You're not one of my fans, you're not here to collect on our loan, you're not lost… So what do you think you're doing barging into our room like this?"

Arthur nudges Fayt for a response. "Um, I'm sorry for barging into your room. We were just taking a little walk, checking out the place… Isn't that right, guys?" Arthur stared at the girls, who knew how they should reply.

"Mmm-hmm," Sophia gestured. The other girls nodded. The girl stared, dumbfounded at the group. "A walk?" She asked. Arthur nodded. "Yeah, a walk. We were just looking around." He answered.

"Barging into people's room isn't called 'taking a WALK!' That's for burglars, or lost kids, or stalkers, or groupies…" The girl scolded. Arthur groaned. "Uh… okay. Then… We're lost." He admitted. "I lied. We came in here to ask for directions."

"Let's get out of here, Fayt," Sophia whispered. Fayt nodded. "Good idea." Iris stared at her brother and sister and nodded. "Let's leave now!"

"So you WERE lost. That explains it. And I thought you were my very first fan…" The girl said, making imaginary circles on the floor with her fingers. "Ah well, it's not like I've performed yet. So, it did seem a little strange."

"You're a performer?" Sophia asked. Lucia groaned. "It's obvious with the way she's dressed."

"That's right. We're the Rosseti Troupe, and we bring you a fleeting vision of the future! I'm your fairy guide, Peppita Rosseti." The girl introduced herself, spinning around. "Well, if you want to hear it in plain Terra, we're a circus troupe, and I am sort of the host."

Fayt glanced at the drawing in the back of his shirt. "Oh… So this shirt with your signature's going to be worth something?" Peppita nodded. "Of course! It's the first autograph I ever signed!"

"The first?" Lucia asked excitedly. Peppita nodded. "Yep! Tomorrow's my first debut. In six months, why, you could buy a whole planet with that shirt!"

Arthur rolled his eyes. He thought Peppita was exaggerating. Arthur turned to Fayt, hoping he would be careful in his reply. "Oh yeah? Amazing. An entire planet. I guess I'll have to take good care of it." Fayt replied.

Arthur noticed that Fayt was humoring Peppita. She seemed to notice it as well. "Hey… You don't believe me?"

Fayt held his hands up defensively. "No, I believe you. I'm sure you'll be dynamite on the stage." Peppita giggled at his reply. "Teehee… Thanks! I'm in a good mood, so I'll give this present to you, my first fan!"

Peppita handed a ticket to Fayt. It looked like an ordinary ticket to Arthur, but the writing was unreadable to him or his sisters. However, Fayt and Sophia understood it well. "Huh… A ticket?" Fayt asked.

"Yeah, our show's tomorrow! You'd better not miss it!" Peppita said, excitement written in her face. "After you see us do our thing, you'll want to treasure that autograph for the rest of your life!"

Fayt smiled. "Gee, thanks. I'm looking forward to the show." He showed the ticket to Sophia, who passed to Lucia, then Iris. When she tried to give it to Arthur to see, Sophia found him near the back. Peppita looked flustered. "Hey! Don't go back there! That's where we keep the bears, lions and tigers."

Arthur walked back to the group, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, guys. I was wondering what was back there." He explained. Peppita shrugged. "Anyway, I hope all of you come to see the show."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Arthur replied. Peppita's expression brightened. "Great! See you later, Fayt! And the rest of you as well!" The group left the troupe's room.

The group walked for thirty minutes until they reached the lobby. Arthur stared in shock at the place. They've been going in circles. He turned and saw Fayt talking with Sophia near a console. A plastic cup with a straw materialized in it and Fayt grabbed it. Iris and Lucia sat down behind Arthur.

Fayt walked back to the siblings, sipping his drink with Sophia in tow, smiling cheerfully. "Just remember that you promised to take me shopping." Arthur narrowed his eyes at Fayt, but didn't ask anything. As Fayt sat down beside Sophia, his eyes were glued to a door that was a few feet away. Arthur recognized the door as a new battle simulator. Fayt finished his drink and approached the combat simulator, the rest of the group behind him.

Sophia frowned when she realized what Fayt was up to. "Games again? But you were just playing!" She stated. "Keep playing games all the time like that and you'll turn into a brainless muscleman!" The girls giggled at the thought. Arthur groaned while Fayt rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you give it a try, Sophia? It's really fun." Fayt asked, persuasively. Sophia stared at Fayt worriedly. She didn't like these kind of simulations. "But isn't this one of those combat simulators? Don't you have to fight? No can do… I don't like these kind of games."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you." Fayt replied, assuring Sophia. She wasn't convinced. "But…"

Fayt rolled his eyes. "I'd never let you do anything dangerous. I promise. C'mon, try it!"

Sophia finally relented. "Well… Okay. If you say so… I guess I could give it a try." Arthur nodded. "I'd like to give it a try." Iris and Lucia agreed with more enthusiasm.

Fayt smiled. "Then it's settled. Let's start at an easy level since you're all beginners." He turned to Sophia. "You'd prefer a character that uses symbology from a distance rather than one that fights up front, right?"

"Yeah… Well… It won't hurt, will it?" Sophia asked nervously. Fayt shook his head. "Don't worry. Beginner's level doesn't hurt at all, really." Lucia didn't seemed convinced. "Are you sure?" Arthur sighed. "He knows what he's doing."

Sophia nodded. "Okay… I'll give it a try." Fayt turned to the siblings. "So, what kind of characters do you three prefer?" Arthur thought about it. "Hmm… I'm more of the swordsman type. But I also like well balanced characters." Iris nodded. "Me too. Except I like straight katana instead of normal swords and curved katanas." Lucia beamed. "I prefer characters that use a long staff as a weapon in a martial arts style."

"All right then, we're about ready." The door opened, allowing the group to enter it. The room was circular with ruby-shaped metal tiles carved in it. The room glowed as the computer system activated. "Welcome to the Battle Simulator. Please set Battle System parameters."

"What do you wanna do, Sophia?" Fayt asked. "Let's start from the beginning… You wanna take a look at the instructions?" Sophia looked confused. "I dunno… Should I?"

"You probably should. Otherwise it won't be much fun."

"C'mon! Forget reading and let's just play already!" Lucia complained. Arthur groaned at his baby sister's impatience. "If you don't read it, how will you know how to play?"

Sophia nodded, ignoring the sibling's argument. "Okay, I will." They began reading the instructions. It explained how to attack, defend, use your weapon, etc. Fayt also helped create their characters. When they were done, Fayt smiled. "All right, let's play. Computer, start."

"Player one: Fayt Leingod. Character: Sword Master Adonis Klein. User level: AAA." Fayt nodded.

"Player two: Sophia Esteed. Character: Flare Witch Cecilia Femina. User level: E." Sophia nodded as well.

"Player three: Arthur Black. Character: Sword Master Dyne Lightburst. User level: E." Arthur shivered with excitement.

"Player four: Iris Black. Character: Blade Dancer Akai Windurst. User level: E." Iris beamed at her character's name.

"Player five: Lucia Black. Character: Fist Warrior Linda Okane. User level: E." Lucia shrieked out of excitement.

"Battlefield: Remote City of Listia. Monster level: E. Setup complete. Continue?" The system asked. Fayt nodded. "Okay. We're ready."

"Preparing to commence. This Simulation System may abort a game if it detects that player safety is at risk." The computer warned. Fayt held back a groan. "I already know that. Just start."

"Confirmed. Commencing game." Digital clothing appeared around the group's bodies. Arthur found himself wearing a breastplate, metal gauntlets and greaves. In his hand was a sword, similar to Fayt's. Fayt and Sophia were wearing what would become their trademark clothing with the latter holding a rod in her hands. Iris wore strange leather armor that resembled the clothing used by the soldiers in the Federation with a straight katana in her hands. Lucia however wore a fusion between a karate gi and a robe with a bo staff in her hands.

Three figures appeared in front of the group. Two of those figures materialized into bird-like creatures with big beaks, walking on two legs with sharp claws. The third figure kept growing until it materialized into a giant creature made out of a bronze-like stone. Fayt smiled confidently. "Two Moa's and a Mythril Brute, huh."

Both Fayt and Arthur went after the Moa's while Iris and Lucia attacked the Mythril Brute, with Sophia providing support. The two swordsmen attacked the Moa's. The bird-like monsters screeched in pain and retaliated. Arthur dodged the attack while Fayt parried it, slashing at one of them. Arthur took advantage of Fayt's attack and stabbed it. The Moa broke into a mass of binary codes and vanished. The other Moa prepared to attack Arthur when it was hit by a pink beam. Arthur turned to see Sophia grinning. Nodding his thanks, Arthur helped Fayt finish off the remaining Moa.

Meanwhile, Iris and Lucia have been fighting the Mythril Brute, using their speed against the big, slow monster. Arthur and Fayt joined in the assault and helped distract it. Iris jumped on one of its arms, ran straight to its face and thrust her katana into its right eye. Arthur jumped to the monster's chest and kicked off to its face. He gave a hard thrust into its remaining eye, leaving his sword stuck in it. Iris jumped down, her katana still lodged where she left it. The monster shrieked in pain, attacking everything in its path. Sophia stood forward and charged her rod, blue light gathering around her weapon. The Mythril Brute pulled out both blades out of its eyes and noticed Sophia, who was alone and defenseless. It charged at Sophia, when it got it in the face by a staff. It looked around and found Lucia near its feet, spinning her staff around. Lucia ran around, distracting the monster with the help of Fayt. Arthur and Iris joined the battle, having recovered their weapons beforehand. Sophia finished charging her rod. She aimed at the monster and fired frozen icicles that stabbed it everywhere. Some hit its already injured eyes and shrieked in pain. The others took this chance to attack it with everything they had. Fayt, Arthur and Iris slashed it with their blades, Lucia bashed it with her staff and Sophia hit it with her rod. With one final scream, the Mythril Brute fell to the floor and vanished into a mass of binary codes.

The group took heavy breaths. That battle simulation was a hard one. The digital clothing and weapons vanished, returning them to what they wore previously. Sophia sighed. "That wore me out…" Fayt chuckled, glancing at Sophia. "But wasn't it fun?"

"Well, it wasn't too bad, I guess." Sophia shrugged. Arthur grinned. "If you ask me that was pretty amazing." Lucia beamed. "Did you guys see me? I took that thing out!"

However, Iris looked worried. Arthur couldn't blame her. He knew what was coming and hoped he wouldn't get separated from everyone. His thoughts were interrupted by his stomach growling. "Sorry. I guess I'm a bit hungry." He said, sheepishly.

Iris shook her head and Lucia rolled her eyes. Their brother was always hungry. Their stomachs started to growl as well. "Thanks a lot, bro! You made my stomach growl too!" Lucia replied sarcastically.

Fayt sighed. "What do you guys say we stop now and go get a bite to eat or something? All of you look pretty bushed."

"Yeah, I'm beat," Sophia added. "I agree," Arthur said. "While that was real fun, it got me tired."

"I dunno. I could keep going for another battle," Lucia replied. "What do you say, Iris?"

Iris sighed. She was still worried. "Actually, we should stop now. I feel exhausted."

"Ha hah, you three need more exercise!" Fayt taunted. "Lucia can keep going and she's younger than you three!"

"Excuse me? I happen to be very healthy for age," Arthur exclaimed seriously. But a smile forced its way to his face. However, Iris and Sophia looked pretty offended. "Quiet! I happen to be very attractive and exercise enough!"

"Hmph. Guess I'm just a fatty," Sophia replied, disappointed.

"No one's saying that. Sheesh…" Fayt explained. He decided to change the subject. "Hey! Let's go find my mom and dad."

Sophia nodded. "Right." As the group began leaving the room, a small rumble caught them by surprise. "What the?" Fayt yelped.

Suddenly, the simulation room's glow dimmed. The group looked around as the system was turning off the simulation. "Level two tremor detected. The system will be temporarily deactivated for your safety." The system responded. "We apologize for any inconvenience."

"An earthquake?" Fayt remarked. "_But Hyda IV is a stable world with no tectonic activity! There shouldn't be any earthquakes._"

A stronger tremor suddenly shook the ground. Fayt caught Sophia who landed on him, screeching. Fayt groaned out of frustration. Iris and Lucia lost their balance and grabbed the closest thing they could get their hands on for support. Unfortunately, that was Arthur who couldn't hold their combined weight and fell to the floor, his sisters on top of him.

Arthur grunted in pain, his back getting crushed. "Could you two get off of me?" His sisters got up from the ground and helped him stand up. An alarm sounded, surprising the group.

"This is an emergency alert. Hyda IV is currently under attack by unidentified spacecraft." The system explained. "All civilians should follow immediate evacuation instructions on the nearest console. I repeat: All civilians…"

"Computer! What's going on?" Fayt asked.

"Remote Station seven, Hyda III, and Hyda IV are currently under attack by unidentified ships." The system explained. "Remote Station seven has scrambled its own ships to mount a counterattack, but they are outnumbered and therefore unable to provide evacuation assistance to Hyda IV."

"An attack by unidentified ships?" Arthur asked. He glanced at Iris, realizing that the three of them here stuck with no way out. Lucia clung to Iris, seemingly scared.

"Standby for video display," The system mentioned, showing a video image of the outside. It was chaos shown of the outside with some large battleships hovering nearby. One of the ships fired at the city, leaving a plum of fire in its wake as a sign of destruction.

Everyone stared in shock at what they witnessed. Fayt shook his head in disbelief. "I don't believe it…" Arthur felt more worried than ever. He stared at Iris, who was also worried with Lucia clinging to her.

"As an emergency measure, all transporters have been directly linked to the Evacuation Terminal." The system explained. "Please commence evacuation by following the established route. I repeat: Please commence…"

"Fayt…" Sophia said, scared. Fayt placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "Don't worry, Sophia. I'll stick with you." He assured her.

Sophia calmed down, her face being a bit red. "Th-thanks." Arthur couldn't help but smile at the little exchange. "Say, would you guys mind if we came along? There's safety in numbers."

"We would appreciate it. Thank you." Fayt replied. "_But who could be attacking us? Never seen ships like those before… I wonder if Mom and Dad are all right? First things first. We gotta get out of here._"

"Let's go everyone." Fayt said.

"Yeah," Sophia replied. The sibling nodded and the group left the simulator room. Arthur knew that the time will come when he and his sisters would be separated.


	2. Separated Escape

**A Separated Escape**

The lobby was filled with people running around in panic. Sophia looked around nervously. She didn't seem calm. "Hey, Fayt. I'm really worried about your mom and dad. Do you think they're okay?" She asked. Lucia turned to Sophia. "Weren't they on the beach?"

"I hope not." Iris replied, frowning. "Otherwise, they'd be fried in that fire."

"Hey! Have some sensitivity, Iris!" Arthur said, scolding Iris. "We don't even know if they are still there."

"You're right. I don't know. But at any rate, we gotta get somewhere safe fast." Fayt said and started to leave. He noticed their expressions and sighed. "Yes, guys. I'm worried about my mom and dad, but we need to think about ourselves right now."

"He's got a point. We have to get out of here." Arthur said, nodding. "We can think about what to do after we escape in one piece."

"Yeah. You're right. Let's go," Sophia said. They quickly bolted to the nearest exit. On the way, they saw a man in a kiosk panicking. "Oh no… Wh-what am I gonna do… No, I gotta relax, relax. First of all, I got to get away from here." He said and ran to the nearest door.

They also saw a mother grabbing her child and both of them hurried out. In the hall, Fayt stopped, his face expressing worry.

Sophia noticed this. "Fayt, what's wrong?" She asked. Iris and Lucia stared at him. Arthur stared down the hall and realized what stopped Fayt. "You're worried about the Rossetti Troupe, aren't you?"

Fayt nodded. "We gotta see if they're alright." Arthur almost groaned. "Fine, let's go. But I don't think we should take too long."

They all ran to the Rossetti Troupe's suite. Fayt swung the door open and found Peppita with her friends still in the room. Peppita herself was surprised at seeing Fayt. "Huh? What are you guys doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Fayt said. "Didn't you hear the announcement? We gotta get outta here."

Peppita shook her head. "You guys go on ahead. Hurry up and go before it's too late."

Fyat was shocked. "'Hurry up and go?'" He repeated. "So you're saying you guys are staying here?"

"We're waiting for my mama and papa. If we leave now, we'll miss them, won't we?" Peppita explained and became serious. "But forget us. What about you guys, Fayt? Why are you still here? Whether you're gonna evacuate or trying to find somebody, you better get a move on."

Sophia nodded. "Yeah, Fayt. She's right. We should go find your mom and dad right away."

Fayt nodded. "You're right. Whether we try to find my parents first or just evacuate immediately, the situation's gonna worsen the longer we take. Okay, let's hurry guys."

They left the Rossetti Troupe to wait for their comrades, wishing them luck. The group dashed to the transporters room. But they had to take a different route due to the debris blocking some of the hallways.

The group finally arrived, being greeted by the same Tetrageniot Hotel Employee they met earlier. "Due to the state of emergency, all transporters have been redirected to send guests to a special floor, where a large transporter waits to take you to the Emergency Shelter." She informed. "After the arrival of all guests at the shelter has been confirmed, the transport jammer located in the evacuation facility will be activated. Please evacuate in an orderly and speedy manner."

They stepped inside the transporter and arrived on the floor. The group left the room and found people running in panic. As they tried to make their way through, they found Robert and Ryoko Leingod heading to the same area. "Hey!" Fayt shouted.

This caught Robert and Ryoko's attention, stopping and turning around. "Uncle Robert and Aunt Ryoko!" Sophia shouted, greeting both of them.

"You guys are alright!" Iris exclaimed. Robert smiled with relief. "I'm glad you're all here."

"You guys too, dad." Fayt said.

Ryoko embraces Sophia in a hug. "What a relief. I was so worried."

Fayt's expression turned serious. "What's going on, Dad? Is Aldian attacking?"

Robert shook his head. "Probably not. From the looks of their weapons and tactics, it's most likely…" He cut himself off at that moment, entering his thoughts.

"Most likely… What?" Fayt asked, raising his eyebrows. Arthur stared at the floor. He knew who were behind the attack.

"Never mind, we must get out of here. Let's go." Robert said, shaking himself out of his thoughts. The party walked to the next section of the facility alongside the other people in the hallway.

They found themselves being stopped by a soldier on the way to the transporter. "Please wait here." He said.

"Is something wrong?" Robert asked.

"There's a long line to use the transporter up ahead." The soldier explained. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait your turn here." He insisted.

"Great! We could just wait to get shot in the back by our invaders!" Arthur replied sarcastically. Everyone stared at Arthur, who just shrugged.

"I see. We'll wait, then." Robert turned to Arthur. "This really isn't the time for sarcasm."

"Correction. There's always a time for sarcasm." Arthur retorted. Unfortunately for him, Lucia elbowed him in the stomach, scolding him for using her retort.

Suddenly, a large bang came followed by an aftershock. Soon after, a second soldier ran over to the other one's side. "Damn! How'd they get in this far?" He said.

"Get going! Keep moving forward!" The first soldier commanded.

"Let's get out of here!" Sophia said.

Fayt nodded. "Yeah!"

"Let's go." Lucia said. As the party began running, another quake of a larger magnitude occurred. Two strange soldiers with white, scaly fish- shaped head, three yellow eyes on each side and a fin protruding from their heads appeared on the scene.

"Here they are!" One of the fish soldiers shouted.

"Run for it!" The second soldier commanded. Both soldiers brandished their rifles and shot the enemy. It hit their marks, but the enemy soldiers managed to kill both of the soldiers with their rifles in no time.

As the group resumed running, Ryoko stopped and looked back. Robert stopped as well walked beside her.

"Robert —" Ryoko started. Robert nodded, his suspicions having been confirmed. "Yes, as I suspected."

"Dad?" Fayt yelled. He and Sophia walked back to Robert and Ryoko while the three siblings stood where they stopped. Robert stared wide-eyed at the youths. More notably, Fayt and Sophia.

"Run, you two! All of you!" Robert said, hastily.

"Uncle Robert?" Sophia shouted.

"What's with you two?" Arthur asked.

"Just get out of here!" Robert insisted.

"But!" Fayt said, but was interrupted by his mother.

"Get moving now! You have to protect her!" Ryoko said, referring to Sophia.

"That's right, hurry! Don't worry about us!" Robert replied. There was a brief pause in the room. Arthur turned to Robert. "Are you two sure about this?" He asked.

"It's all right. We'll be at the Evacuation Facility soon." Robert said. "Besides, I believe your parents are worried about you three."

"You don't have to worry about that." Iris muttered. Robert raised his eyebrows, having overheard Iris. "Our parents happen to be busy working back home. The three of us came here on our own." She explained, smiling sheepishly.

"Hmm, I see."

"Dad! Promise that we'll meet soon!" Fayt said.

"Promise!"

Fayt nodded. "Let's go Sophia! Come on Arthur, Iris and Lucia!"

"Okay!"

"Let's go!" Fayt and Lucia run off while Sophia, Iris and Arthur took a bow to the Leingods.

They left and started catching up to Fayt and Lucia. Ryoko looked at the group, worried for their safety. "Do you think they will be all right?"

"I don't know." Robert replied. "But this can't just be a coincidence, especially the meeting with those three."

As the group ran, one of the fish soldiers caught sight of the five youths escaping. "They're getting away!"

"Use the incapacitator!" The other soldier commanded. His companion nodded and activated a group of spider-like robots that have four limbs with three fingers in each hand. Three of them began running past the soldiers after the escaping youths. Fayt noticed this and urged the group to run faster. One of the robots finally caught up with the group and jumped at them.

"Everyone scatter!" Arthur screamed.

Arthur, Lucia, Iris, Fayt and Sophia jumped down to the floor, avoiding the robot's metallic arm. Instead, it hit the pipes on the wall which caused some to become loose. Noticing this, Fayt pulled out two of the metal pipes and gave one to Sophia while brandishing the other as a weapon. Following Fayt's example, Arthur and Iris brandished the pies they both pulled, while Lucia picked up a long, thin, metal rod from the floor.

Fayt and Arthur engaged one of the robots; Iris took on the second one, while Sophia and Lucia fought against the third robot. The battle began with Fayt ramming his pipe at the robot, which staggered back. Arthur took this chance and gave a hard thrust with his pipe at its unprotected side. It retaliated by swiping with its arms. Fayt and Arthur ducked under the attack and whacked it with their pipes. It took the blows and jumped over the two. Fayt took this chance and used an upward thrust, breaking its armor. The incapacitator fell to the floor on its back. Arthur gave his two cents and stabbed right through its core, destroying it. Fayt went to help Sophia and Lucia against the third robot while Arthur ran to help Iris.

"Hey! Need some help?" Arthur asked. Iris rolled her eyes as she dodged another attack from the incapacitator. "No thanks. I'm doing fine on my own." She replied sarcastically. Arthur chuckled and blocked an attack directed at her. Iris retaliated with a horizontal swipe at its head. It reeled from the unexpected attack and leaped at Arthur. Iris pushed him out of the way and took the hit. Arthur counterattacked on its defenseless behind, hoping to get its attention away from Iris. It worked, the robot turning around to face Arthur only to get attacked by an angry Iris. It kept getting attacked on both sides by the two siblings until Iris gave a final attack that destroyed it. They both turned to see Lucia stab the remaining robot with her metal rod and destroying it.

"Looks like you guys took care of that one." Arthur said, impressed. Sophia while exhausted, nodded. Fayt was panting as well. "Yeah! It was easy with Sophia's symbology, Lucia's speed and my strength." He replied.

The group heard some noises around them. As they looked around, Lucia stared in front of her and frowned. "Everyone look." She said. The group noticed more of the robots running at their direction. But what had them worried was that they were trapped in a corner.

"Dammit!" Fayt growled.

"I'm scared." Sophia said, worried. She embraced Lucia who was a bit scared herself as well.

"Don't worry. Just stay behind us." Iris replied, assuring the two. Unlike the two girls behind her, she was holding her fear back.

"So it's just a couple of walking toasters. Big deal!" Arthur commented cockily. Sophia looked ahead nervously. "O-okay," She said.

"_What are we gonna do?_" Fayt thought. "_There's no end to these…_" Out of nowhere, one of the incapacitator was stepped on and destroyed. "_Huh?_" Fayt noticed a very large man in a blue jumpsuit standing in front of them. "What the heck is that?" Fayt said in surprise.

"Hey, you guys. You okay? You hurt?" The voice of a small girl asked.

"Is that–" Sophia said, also surprised. Upon closer inspection, Arthur noticed a familiar little girl on the large man's shoulder.

The girl smiled. "Peppita?" Fayt said, shocked. He didn't to expect to be saved by her. She leapt off of the large man's shoulder.

"I came to check what all the racket was about and found ya guys in trouble…" Peppita explained. Arthur stared at the large man nervously and asked, "Who's your very big friend, Pep?" Peppita walked closer to them and lifted one arm in the air. "This is Ursus."

"Nice to meet y'all." Ursus said. "Pity we couldn't meet under better circumstances."

"Thanks for the help, Peppita." Lucia said. Peppita smiled at Lucia. "Don't mention it."

"Lil' lady?" Ursus said. There was a tone of urgency in his voice. Peppita turned and stared at Ursus, wondering why he interrupted her.

"Whatdaya want Ursus…" She asked. Ursus simply pointed behind him the group suddenly went into shock. "What the?" From a distance it seemed that there where more of the incapacitators coming in their direction.

"Don't these things ever give up?" Arthur groaned. The group readied themselves for battle, except Peppita who looked annoyed. "Man! This is NOT what we need right now."

She got into her battle stance, with her left arm right in front of her and her right arm behind and over her. "Ursus, take care of that one! Let's go, you guys!" Peppita said. They separated into similar pairs. Arthur and Fayt took the leftmost robot, Iris and Sophia engaged the center one while Lucia and Peppita went against the rightmost incapacitator. The fight was similar to the last one. Arthur noticed that Peppita fought using the cape and bangles that she wore, using her speed and acrobatics.

The group defeated the robots, only to notice more coming their way. "There's more?" Peppita said. They fought using the same strategy that they used in the last one. However, the incapacitators used lasers that were mounted on their backs. Most of the group managed to avoid the lasers, but Iris was almost hit when she found a shard of glass on the floor and used it to reflect the laser at another incapacitator. The group retaliated and defeated the incapacitators.

The group relaxed afterwards. "Phew… Piece of cake!" Peppita said, excitedly.

"Thanks for the help." Fayt said. The group was grateful for Peppita's help.

"No problemo! But we should get outta here," Peppita said. She looked back at the hallway worriedly. "There'll be more of those things coming! It's already a complete disaster over that way. C'mon, let's get outta here!"

Fayt looked shocked. If what Peppita said is true, he knew his parents would be in danger. "A complete disaster? But, my parents!" Fayt turns and tries to get through, but Sophia, Arthur, Iris and Lucia stood in his way, blocking the hallway.

"Hey! Wait a sec!" Iris said. "Forget it, Fayt! Don't even think about it!"

Sophia nodded and advised Fayt, "Iris is right! Didn't you hear Peppita? It's too dangerous back that way!"

"But!"

"Forget it!"

"Sophia's right," Lucia said. "You could be killed if you went that way."

"_Or captured by those fish-heads._" Arthur thought.

Peppita was getting impatient. "Come on you guys! I already said it was too dangerous!" She said.

"Please, stop him! He says he's going back!"

"What? Back… there?"

"Mom and Dad are back there! I have to go help them!" Fayt said and attempted to move through a remaining space, but Peppita blocked his path as well. "Outta my way!" He ordered.

"Didn't you hear me? It's an inferno back there!" Peppita yelled.

"It's way too dangerous!" Sophia said.

"The last thing we need is for you to do something stupid, Fayt," Arthur said.

"C'mon you guys, out of my way!" Fayt said. He just wouldn't give up. Peppita finally lost her patience and turned to Ursus, yelling, "Ohhh, that's it! Ursus?"

Ursus saw the situation and understood what to do. He walked over Fayt and picked him up in a submission hold. Fayt flailed around trying to escape the large man's grip, but couldn't even escape. "Lemme go, lemme go!" He yelled.

"Look, we'll all die if we don't get out of here, now!" Peppita counseled Fayt.

The group of seven quickly ran to the transporter and found themselves greeted by a commanding officer in the room. Ursus let go of Fayt and placed him on the floor. "Welcome to Iruba Shelter five. This is an evacuation shelter located underneath Hyda IV. Please wait in your assigned rooms until the rescue ship arrives. You are allowed to move freely about the facility, but there are some restricted areas. Please refer to the consoles or ask the nearest official for detailed instructions." Fayt manages to reply with a nodded agreement. The others noticed that Fayt was depressed, since they forced him to abandon his parents. They also felt depressed for that.

"All right, then… We'll be going now." Peppita suggested. Fayt looked away from the group in a silent angst. The others could only stare in silence, unable to console him.

"Hey… Cheer up," Peppita said and left the room with Ursus.

"Fayt…" Sophia said.

"...Shall we go? There's nothing left to do here, anyway." Fayt said in monotone.

"Uh, yeah. I'm sure your folks are okay. Don't worry…" Iris said, sympathetically.

"Yeah. I'm sure your mom and dad will be here sooner than you'd think, just be patient." Lucia said, attempting to make Fayt feel better.

"…Yeah, I know. Let's go." Fayt replied.

As the group left, the soldier looked in their direction. "Oh, one second please." He said.

The group turned around as the soldier checked the computer besides him. "All of you have been assigned to room five-zero-six. Please remember that."

"Okay. Five-zero-six, got it." Arthur replied.

"Don't worry. I expect the rescue transport will be here soon. Please try to relax and wait."

"Great! I'm sure a shelter in the middle of the battlefield is a great place to relax!" Arthur said, sarcastically. Iris and Lucia glared at him and he kept his mouth shut. Fayt and Sophia ignored Arthur.

"Excuse me. Which room did that little girl and her friend reside?" Fayt asked.

The soldier checked the computer and stared at Fayt. "They reside in room five-zero-nine." He replied.

"Okay, thank you," Sophia said, bowing at the soldier. The group left the room and followed Fayt to room five-zero-nine, where the Rossetti Troupe reside. Inside, the Troupe where having a meeting, due to the attack interfering with their entertaining affairs.

A short man with white hair wearing a ring master's clothing was sitting on the bed. "Allright, time to discuss our business plans… Hmm?"

The Troupe turned to see Fayt, Sophia, Arthur, Iris and Lucia enter the room. "What? Fayt?" Peppita said. The group sat down and Fayt explained everything after the Troupe introduced themselves.

Later in the room, the troupe looked sympathetically at the group. "Ahhh, your parents…" The ring master, Piccolotto said in a sad tone.

"Ah well, what can you do, hey? Hey, at least you're still alive, eh?" The clown Gonnella said and shrugged with a sneer.

"Ahh, Gonnella! You should really watch your tongue!" Peppita snapped.

Fayt shook his head. "No, it's okay. It's just like he said." He said, hanging his head. Fayt sighed and looked at Peppita. "Even if I went to help them, I wouldn't have been able to do anything… If only I was a little stronger…"

"Fayt…" Sophia said.

"Can't say I know how he feels," Arthur said, getting glares from his sisters.

"Strength, it's not enough. You can't beat them," Ursus advised, much to Arthur's surprise.

"He's right. It's not your fault." The circus diva, Dulcenia said. "I bet they were professional soldiers… There's nothing we can do against people like that."

"And, you know… Just because they didn't make it to this evacuation facility doesn't mean your parents are dead." Piccolotto said, assuring Fayt. "You know, they might be hiding out somewhere. Don't give up so soon."

"Or, you know… They might've been captured or something, eh." Gonnella said with a grin.

"Gonnella!" Peppitta scolded him with a tone of angst. She tried to gang on Gonnella, but Ursus moved her away and said, "It's all right. If they've been captured, then you can go rescue them."

"Anyway, you'll just have to wait a little longer." Piccolotto wisely counseled to the group. "What could you possibly do right now? We don't even know what's going on."

"Yeah, you're right," Fayt agreed. Iris turned to Fayt and said, "Maybe we should keep our eyes and ears open in case."

"Why don't you go to your room and rest a bit? All of you look too tired to do anything right now," Dulcenia requested to the group.

"Or you guys could just rest here with us. Wouldn't you feel safer here with everyone?" Peppita asked.

"Thank you, but I'm fine. I want to think things over anyway." Fayt said.

"Uh, okay." Peppita replied. Fayt and Arthur left the room. Sophia and Iris respectfully bowed to the Troupe while Lucia waved Peppita and walked out of the room, themselves.

"So, what do we do now?" Fayt asked.

"I heard on the way here that there's an Expelian healer in the northern rooms." Arthur proposed. "We should go there, treat our wounds and rest in our room." The group traveled to the room housing the healer and had their wounds treated. Arthur, specifically, considered this to be his weirdest experience yet, due to being treated through symbology. After their treatment, the group walked through the eastern route, having arrived there from the western route. Fayt noticed a familiar girl sobbing on the stairs nearby.

"Hey, it's…" Sophia said, recognizing the girl. They walked over and found Peppita sitting on the stairs with Ursus standing by her side. She noticed the group behind her and turned to look at Fayt.

"Hey, Fayt," She asked, her mood being depressing. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Do you think, maybe, I should have minded my own business that time?"

"That time?" Arthur asked, confused.

"Yeah, you know, when we were escaping to this place, I had Ursus grab you, Fayt. That's why you where separated from your family. It's all my fault, isn't it?" Peppita asked, blaming herself for Fayt's predicament.

"Peppita..." Sophia commented. Iris and Lucia felt bad for her. Arthur didn't respond, instead looking at Fayt who apparently felt worse and then, asked, "C'mon, Pep. You don't really think that?"

Peppita nodded and resumed sobbing tears. Fayt frowned and said, "That's not true. I would've been killed if you guys hadn't stopped me. It's all right. Don't worry about it."

Peppita smiled at Fayt's reply. "Oh… Well, that's a relief." She said.

"Of course. Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Umm... It's nothing. I just kinda worried about it."

The group left the scene and went to their room. It looked similar to the Rossetti Troupe's room except it was mostly empty of people with rows of empty beds. Sophia sat on a bed, feeling signs of fatigue.

"Sophia? You okay?" Fayt asked.

"Yeah… I think."

"You're exhausted. You should rest." Iris replied and turned to Lucia. "That goes for you too."

"Hey! I'm not tired at all!" Lucia said. However, she couldn't help but yawn. She was giving in to her fatigue as well.

"That's right. Same goes for you, Iris." Arthur said. Iris nodded and led Sophia to her bed. Sophia laid down and puts the cover on her. Arthur and Fayt led Lucia to her bed, Arthur placing the cover on her after she laid down.

"Sorry." Sophia said.

"Don't worry." Fayt said.

"Right," Arthur said. "This was a tiring day for all of us."

"Um… Fayt, Arthur, Iris?"

"What is it?" Iris asked.

"Will you three stay here until I fall asleep? I don't want to be alone," Sophia said, covering most of herself.

"Sure, I'll stay. Just relax and go to sleep." Fayt said.

"Don't worry. Both me and my brother will be here." Iris replied.

"Thanks."

"Anytime," Arthur said. Sophia soon fell to sleep.

"Well, time for some shut eye." Arthur said, stretching himself as he got to his bed.

"At least someone is sleeping deeply." Iris commented and got to her bed, staring at Lucia who was fast asleep.

"Good night…" Fayt said, approaching his bed and going to sleep. Arthur and Iris fell asleep as well.

Later on during the night, Arthur abruptly wakes up from another nightmare. "_The same dream over and over again._" He thought, looking down at his covers. "_We're almost close to that time. Question is, will the three of us go together? Or will we be separated? I don't now if my sisters could survive on their own._"

"Are you awake, Arthur?" Fayt's whispering voice asked.

"Is something wrong, Fayt?"

"Do you think I'll ever see my parents again?"

Arthur was glad that it was dark. He couldn't look at Fayt in the eyes. "Don't worry, you will see them again. I'm sure they're alive and waiting too see you again right now."

"Thanks…" Fayt returned to sleep. Arthur looked at his watch and saw that it was twelve in the morning with eight minutes. With a sigh, he returned to sleep.

Around three in the morning with fifty-two minutes, an alarm sounded. Arthur, who was almost asleep and Fayt sat up. "W-what now?" Fayt yelled.

The girls began to wake up. Iris rubbed her eyes, Lucia woke with a yawn and Sophia looked around worryingly from the alarm. "Fayt… What's that sound?" Sophia asked, nervously.

"It's an alarm and it sounds like they're going to make an announcement." Fayt replied.

"This is an update for all refugees," An announcer stated through unseen speakers. Fayt and Arthur looked up while the girls silently listened curiously to the update. "We now know the recent raid on the resort planet Hyda was a surprise attack by Vendeen. Remote Station number seven mounted an attempt to defend Hyda IV, but was thwarted by a tactical Vendeeni strike. Currently, the Pangalactic Administration is scrambling ships from surrounding regions, but Vendeeni forces still have control of this sector. We request that all civilians begin boarding rescue shuttles for immediate evacuation to Remote Station six. Please do not panic. Refer to the nearest console or attendant for further instructions."

"Vendeen?" Lucia asked. Fayt look at her and replied, "They're an intergalactic autonomous government and a race of anthromorphic fish."

"Let me get this straight. We're being attacked by a race of alien gold fish. That's just wonderful. I always wanted to be killed by walking guppies." Arthur said with his usual negative sarcasm.

"Sophia, we gotta go… You okay?" Fayt asked, ignoring Arthur.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little sleep helped me calm down." Sophia said.

"Hold on just a little longer. We'll be safe once we reach Remote Station six."

"Okay."

"Yes. I get to go on a Federation ship." Lucia said excitedly.

Fayt walked to a nearby computer and asked, "Computer. Please tell me the present location of Robert and Ryoko Leingod."

"The location of the specified individuals is unknown."

"What do you mean 'unknown'?" Iris blurted out.

"Both Robert Leingod and Ryoko Leingod's position were lost on Galactic Year 772-12141923."

"Lost? What then?"

"The information system is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Confirmation is not possible at this present moment." The computer replied, shutting down.

"What? Oh no!" Fayt said.

Arthur grabbed Fayt's shoulder and said, "Fayt! We have to get out of here now!" Fayt nodded and the group left for the transporter room. They stepped in their correspondent transporter and warped to another room.

The group was greeted by a Federation employee. "Welcome to the Federation transport ship GFSS-12372 Helre. You must have been through a lot."

"Yes, we were." Iris replied. The Federation employee gave a faint smile and continued, "Don't worry. We will soon be departing for Remote Station six. The observation bay is located directly through the corridor leading out of this room. Please wait there until we reach our destination. Gravitic warp will get us there shortly."

The group thanked the employee and left the room, walking through the east bay of the ship and looking at their surroundings. "So this is a Federation transport ship…" Fayt said, looking around curiously. The girls were looking around as well. Lucia being so excited that she seemed to be sugar high.

However, Arthur just walked ahead, looking bored. "It sure ain't Miami Beach," He said, then saw an attractive female attendant and smirked, "Then again, it has its interesting points."

They went through the halls, looking around the ship, or in Arthur's case, looking at the female attendants. He was glad none of the others saw what he was doing. The group soon arrived at a room at the end of the bay. Inside, there where many people looking at a monitor. "Hey, Fayt. What's that? They're all watching something." Sophia said.

"Huh? You're right… What is that? Something on the monitor?" Fayt asked.

"Let's go take a look." Lucia said and walked to the monitor. The rest of the group followed her and went into shock like the rest of the people watching the monitor. There was a battle between Federation ships and Vendeeni ships, and the Vendeeni had the advantage.

"Oh no! It's worse than I thought! This is horrible!" Fayt said.

"I'll say. This sucks big time." Arthur exclaimed with a groan.

"We are about to enter gravitic warp to escape the battle zone," An announcer said throughout the ship's intercom. "I repeat: We are about to enter gravitic warp to escape the battle zone. All evacuees prepare for warp turbulence." The ship instantly sped through space, traveling through sub-space that excelled the speed of light.

The group left to sleep in some chairs in a booth on a lounge as soon as the ship entered gravitic warp. They've been asleep for three hours until Fayt finally woke up. He stared at Arthur sleeping peacefully in a chair in front of him, Iris sleeping beside her brother, laying her head on top of his left shoulder and Lucia with her head on Arthur's lap. Fayt looked at Sophia sleeping peacefully on top of his right shoulder. He found himself staring at Sophia's body and looked away with a blush. This sudden movement caused Sophia to wake up.

"Mmm… Fayt?" Sophia asked groggily, looking at Fayt.

"Oh, I woke you up. Sorry." Fayt said.

"No, it's all right. Where do you think we are now?"

"I don't know. I wonder? There haven't been any announcements yet." Fayt replied.

"We should ask one of the crew," Sophia said and smiled. "Besides, we could all use some exercise."

"Yeah, good idea," Fayt said and shook Arthur awake, calling his name.

Arthur woke up with a yawn and looked at Fayt. "What is it, Fayt? Did something happen?" He asked groggily, stretching his arms with a yawn. Fayt shook his head and replied, "We were going to ask one of the crew members how much time till we reached Remote Station six and thought you three would like to come along."

Arthur nodded and woke up his sisters, explaining what Fayt told him. "Sure, why not?" Iris replied with Lucia nodding enthusiastically. The group left the lounge and walked aimlessly through the ship until they arrived to a room with a staircase. They found a furious man wearing tourist clothing conversing with one of the ship's male attendants.

"Hey, you. What's the big idea, letting the Vendeeni forces get this far?" The male tourist shouted. With a sneer, he added, "Maybe it happened during nap time on Remote Station seven?"

"I'm sorry, but this particular incident is currently under investigation. We have no further comments at this time." The officer said.

"What are you trying to pull? Do you have any idea who I am?" The tourist growled and threatened the officer.

"An asshole, good for nothing, lazy bum… Stop me when I get it right." Arthur said out loud with Fayt chuckling and the girls giggling.

"I heard that you punk." The tourist said, scowling at Arthur. The latter just shrugged and replied, "Good, because you shouldn't accost a soldier for a situation that was beyond his control."

"He's right. So stop threatening him." Fayt said, glaring at the tourist.

The tourist's scowled deepened and glared at the officer, who only shook his head. "They are not doing anything that goes against the rules. And I am sorry, but no matter who you are, I cannot say anything more at this time. Please, return to the lounge."

"Don't play games with me." The tourist said and spat. "Talking to you is a waste of time. Get me the captain! I want to speak with the captain!"

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't do that. As long as the captain is the commanding officer of this ship, his orders are absolute." The officer stated and added, "Those orders state that I am not to allow civilians to enter any area but the lounge, for any reason."

"What? You blithering idiot! I'll remember you! I'll use my influence to get you canned the second I arrive on Remote Station six." The tourist threatened again, more intensively.

"Be my guest." The officer said, challenging the tourist's threat.

The tourist growled at the officer. "You'll regret this!" With a huff, he turned around to leave and saw the group. "Get out of my sight, you punks!" He yelled. Everyone got out of the way, Arthur being the last one and giving the tourist the 'finger', and the man left the room.

"He must be very popular with his peers." Iris stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Tell me about it." Sophia said, turning to the officer and added, "We're sorry for the way we behaved, but that man's behavior was intolerable."

"That's quite all right. I've seen a lot of people like that in my profession." The officer replied.

Arthur walked closer to Fayt and whispered, "Now isn't the best time to ask about when we will be arriving." Fayt nodded and left the room with the group, excusing themselves from the officer.

"What do we do now?" Lucia asked in the hallway.

"What else? Go back to our lounge and wait till we get there." Arthur replied with a shrug.

The group agreed with him and returned to the lounge.

Several hours later on the deck of the Federation ship known as the Herle, many of the crew where working to get the refugees to Remote Station #6. On the seat in the center of the deck was the captain of the Helre, the name on his ID tag being Commodore Volga.

"Navigator? Status report." Commodore Volga requested.

"Yes, captain. We were cruising at warp fifteen on course two-three-one; mark three-three-zero when the gravitic warp field collapsed and the computer detected an anomaly, forcing us to return to conventional space."

Commodore Volga nodded and looked at the screen. "Computer, what caused the ship's warp field to collapse?" He asked.

"…There is not enough data to determine the cause."

Commodore Volga sighed. It always annoyed him that he relied so much on data and felt frustration at the computer unable to determine the cause. "All right. Even if you can't determine the cause, how about a theory?" Volga offered, hoping to get some answers this time.

"Prior to the collapse, sensors detected a space-time disturbance." The computer replied. "Our database does not contain any record of such a disturbance, but there is a seventy-seven probability that it was the cause of the collapse."

"Space-time disturbance? Come to think of it, the technology on Vendeen's military is based on space-time manipulation."

"That is not an established fact, but the Federation Institute of Technology has theorized that this is the case."

"So it was likely that it was a Vendeeni attack that stopped us, then." It was at that instant that an alarm sounded. Many of the crew worked in their stations, attempting to find what caused the alarm.

"Screen, on!" The ship's navigator said. The screen flashed, showing an image of about two or three Vendeeni battleships surrounding the Herle, one of them engaged against it.

"Damn! Divert all power to shields! Evasion course two-nine-one, mark zero-three-zero!"

"Course entered."

Thirty minutes later back in the lounge, the group had been playing cards as a way of passing the time when they heard that the captain was going to make an announcement.

Arthur pulled his sisters back as Fayt and Sophia walked to the screen. "We're close to the chance of being separated."

Lucia was a bit surprised, considering she never passed that part in the game. "Are you saying were not going together?"

Iris shook her head and replied, "No, we're not, so we should be prepared to be apart from each other."

"That's right. No matter where we go, let's promise to find each other." Arthur said. His sisters nodded in agreement and the three stood beside Fayt and Sophia.

"Fayt…" Sophia said in a worried tone.

The image of Commodore Volga appeared on the screen, worry written on his face and announced, "This is your captain speaking. Our ship is currently under attack by a Vendeeni battleship. Our gravitic warp engine has already been disabled, which means escape is not an option. All power has been diverted to our shields to buy us some time, but I wanted you all to know: our chances are slim. I had hoped to transport you all the way to Remote Station six, but it seems that is now beyond my power. All evacuees are requested to proceed to the ship's escape pods. Please remain calm and follow the instructions of the attendant nearest you as you board your pod. …Good luck to you all." The image flashed and the screen was turned off.

As the group contemplated all of this, a laser beam suddenly hit the ship. Sophia screamed and nearly fell, but Fayt caught her. Lucia managed to cling to Iris' leg, who almost fell as well, but was caught by Arthur. The ship rattled uncontrollably due to the constant firing it was receiving.

"Was that a direct hit?" Fayt gasped.

"Shields down to forty seven percent." The navigator said, not having known that the loud speakers were still on.

"Does that answer your question?" Iris asked sarcastically.

"Let's get out of here." The flirt they met on the beach earlier said to her fox friend.

"Right behind you!" They left the room.

"Ohhh! We're doomed…"An elder Roakian said.

"W-w-whoa…! What will become of me…? Ohh…" A Blue Dolphin panicked as he paced around in fear.

An earnest crew member appeared near the door and addressed the people in the room. "To the pods everyone, hurry! They're located one level up in the hangar bay. Don't panic!"

"We gotta go, you guys!" Lucia advised.

"Okay!" Sophia stated.

"I refuse to be barbecued in space." Arthur said. The group left the room and went up the stairs, reaching the escape pods only to find a long line of people. As they waited in line, the group where approached by a male crew member who looked slightly obnoxious.

"Hey, you! The one with blue hair!" He asked. "I hope you don't mind me asking this but what's your blood type?"

"Uh… It's type A…" Fayt replied.

"I'm B, myself. My fortune this morning said that today, I was gonna have the worst luck ever. Of course, also said that type A guys would have the best day of their life today. Man, I really envy you." The slightly obnoxious crew member said then left.

The group kept walking behind the line when they ran into the captain who left the deck for a moment and they approached him. "What? And you are? Never mind, get to the escape pods immediately, civilians!" The Commodore said.

"Umm… Is the situation really that bad?" Arthur asked.

"Take a look for yourself. This transport ship, the Helre, is currently under fire from that Vendeeni battleship. I've received a report that the attack we just received did serious damage to this ship's gravitic warp core, and that it is now malfunctioning. This ship will probably explode in a few minutes once it can no longer contain the massive amounts of energy generated by its gravitic warp engine. Do you understand what I just told you? So hurry up and evacuate." The Commodore explained.

"Hurry up? Huh? Why isn't everyone evacuating?" Iris asked.

The Commodore rubbed his forehead and resumed explaining. "This ship usually carries more than escape pods for all passengers. Unfortunately, we are currently carrying passengers well in excess of this ship's maximum occupancy."

"What? That means…" Sophia said, surprised.

The Commodore shook his head. "It was an emergency situation. This is nobody's fault. So hurry! You can still survive this!"

"Captain… Everyone…" Fayt said and saluted the captain who returned the salute.

The group returned to the line only to see the Rossetti Troupe out of the way and they were greeted by Peppita. "What? Everyone's on board already? I guess it's our turn after you guys."

"Huh? What do you mean after us?" Arthur blurted out.

"You see, me and the rest of the troupe thought that you five and everyone else should leave first." Peppita explained. "That way, you guys should have a chance to escape."

"But that's suicide."

"It doesn't matter. Don't worry. We'll be just fine." Peppita said and there was a brief pause in between the six.

"Okay. Thank you so much." Iris said.

"You're welcome. Good luck to all of you." Peppita said.

"You too." The group ran into the pod room where the line used to stand and entered the room.

"Good. The pod's still here! Get in quick, Sophia. We're running out of time." Fayt said.

"Fayt… I'm scared." Sophia whined, worried.

"Don't worry…"

"But…"

"A Federation ship will recover our pods in no time. I'll see you at Remote Station six. Now get going."

"Don't worry. We'll be back together before we know it." Iris said, trying to cheer up Sophia.

"O-okay. You'll follow, right? Promise?" Sophia said.

"Promise." Fayt said

"We will see each other again. That's a fact." Arthur said.

Sophia climbed down the ladder and entered the pod. The four watched as the hatch closed and the pod was gone. They left the room and ran into a male crew member. "This way, hurry! There's still a couple of pods here!"

"Right!" Fayt said.

"Roger." Arthur said as he saw his sisters enter their respective pod rooms. He glanced at them one more time then entered his. Arthur sat in the pod then looked at the controls. "_I'm not familiar with this technology, but I can make a good guess._" He thought as he was taken to a shuttle. He then pressed some of the commands and the controls were activated.

"Activation complete… Ejection in ten seconds." The computer stated.

"Awesome! Let's hope I'm not blown to bits." The passage way opened and the shuttle was launched. Just as it was launching, the Helre exploded and the space around where it stood was covered in pods. The Vendeeni ships fired rounds all over the place then suddenly another ship appeared. The escape pods zoomed past the ships and were out of sight.

Back in the escape pod, Arthur was contemplating about what just happened. "I can't believe I survived that. If that Federation ship was what I think it was then that Vendeen assault ship was that other ship."

"Distress signal operational." The computer specified.

"Cool."

"Searching for life-supporting planets... Planet found."

"Which planet?"

"Vanguard III, located approximately zero point five light years from present location. Axial tilt of thirty five degrees results in extreme seasonal weather. Existence of humanoid life forms confirmed. The Federation has classified Vanguard III as an Underdeveloped Planet. Civilization level: approximately equivalent to sixteenth-century Earth."

"Vanguard III, huh. I guess I'm going with Fayt after all, but the question is why my sisters or I are getting involved?"

"Would you like to review the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact?"

"Sure, why not?"

"The Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact was established in order to protect planets with developing civilizations. Contact with civilizations that have not reached a certain level of development is strictly prohibited by Federation law. This is due to the fact that contact with advanced civilizations has a high probability of greatly influencing the course of history on a less developed planet. All individuals and organizations belonging to the Pangalactic Federation are required to adhere to the tenets of this Pact, unless faced with a clear danger to life and limb. This Pact is one of the most important components of Pangalactic Federation law. It also serves as a guideline for civilization conduct in emergency situations. Violators will be tried by the Pangalactic Council."

"Computer, please scan for other ships or pods in the vicinity."

"Scanning…"

"_Let's hope Fayt's pod is nearby._" Arthur thought hopefully.

"Search complete. One escape pod found."

"That's good to know. When will we arrive at Vanguard III?" Arthur said.

"We should arrive in exactly one hundred and sixty eight hours." The computer replied.

"Wake me up when we get there." Arthur said as he fell asleep, wondering what was in store for him.

* * *

Another chapter up. Please R/R. 


	3. Stranded in the Vanguard

**Stranded in the Vanguard**

A week later, Arthur woke up and heard from the computer.

"Entering Vanguard III's gravitational field. Prepare for entry turbulence." Arthur's pod along with another one crashed in a forest with tremendous force. Arthur jumped out of his pod and walked a short distance where he saw Fayt near his pod swinging a sword.

"Hey, Fayt." Arthur said and ducked under a swing from Fayt's sword. Fayt looked at him and shook his head. "Sorry, Arthur. I didn't know you crash-landed here as well."

"It's okay. What did you find out about this place?"

"I checked my quad scanner and it seems there's a village nearby." Fayt said then looked at Arthur. "Arthur! Did you manage to replicate a weapon?"

"I kinda forgot." Arthur replied. Fayt shook his head, walking to his pod and replicated a sword for him. Arthur picked up the blade and gave a few practice swings. "Let's go then, Fayt."

"Yeah! I know it's a UP3 infringement, but this is an emergency. They'll probably cut us some slack if we keep a low profile." Fayt said.

The two walked through the forest, fighting against some slime monsters in the way. Fayt managed to cut one with an overhead swing, killing it and Arthur killed another one by stabbing it. It went like this until they reached the edge near the village entrance. The two were walking oddly, short of breath and suffering from fatigue by lack of food and the constant fighting. Fayt then knelt to the ground, panting. "Made it… Finally! Whew, that was farther than I thought. Looked so close… …on the scanner."

Fayt suddenly fainted on the ground. Arthur knelt down next to him. "Fayt! Get up. We have to keep going." He said, nudging Fayt. Arthur took an arm and was about to help Fayt back up when he then fell down, slamming the ground. They both laid there, unconscious, too exhausted and with no will or strength to get up.

A girl with bobbed hair then appeared at the scene and walked to Fayt. "Hey! What's wrong, mister? You got a belly ache?" She then realized that there were two people on the ground and looked around at the area but found no one else.

"Oh no! Niklas! Niklaaas!" The girl yelled as she ran off back to the village.

Arthur got up, yawning and groaning. He then opened his eyes and recognized where he was and woke up. "My room. I guess it was just a dream." He said, getting up from his bed and walked out of the room. He then walked out of the house only to appear back in the lobby of the Grantier Resort.

"Figures. I must still be sleeping and this is a dream." Arthur said, shaking his head.

"That's right." A voice said. Arthur turned around and saw a tall man with tan skin, dark brown hair wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans. The man smiled at Arthur and walked oddly to him.

"Uncle Ray? What are you doing here?" Arthur asked, surprised.

"You surprised us when you and your sisters disappeared, Arthur. I bet you have many questions." Ray said.

"I sure do. Why were the three of us brought here? How did that wormhole appear in the living room? I'm not even meant to be here!"

"I fear something brought the three of you to that universe. Something very dangerous and powerful that could destroy or enslave all."

"If that guy's behind it then he's not satisfied with deleting this universe. The only dangerous force is the creator of this universe, uncle."

"I'm afraid this creator you're talking about is a pawn in this game."

"If the creator of the Eternal Sphere isn't fully behind this, then who is? What in the world is powerful enough to rip the fabric of time and space? The creator is the only one that I can think of."

"You're being too narrow. Open your mind to the possibilities."

"So if the creator is being used and this universe is manipulated; who or what's messing with everything?"

"I don't have the answer to that question. But I do have something for you." Ray said, his hands glowing and placing them on Arthur's hands. "I've awakened a power that was hidden within you. The power of air and the power of light."

Arthur took of his gloves and looked at his hands. He was surprised to find two symbols on the back of each hand. "Does this mean I can use symbology too?" He asked, excited.

"You should, but I suggest learning from someone who knows how to use those symbols. You should also develop your own fighting styles and skills. And remember your other strengths too."

"You're talking about my sisters, Fayt, Sophia and the others."

"Yes, them. Don't worry. Iris and Lucia are fine and you will see them again. You're not alone in this."

"Thanks, uncle. I'll do my best in helping everyone." Arthur said and began walking away but he stopped and turned back. "How do I get out of here?"

Ray shook his head and looked at Arthur. "Sometimes you're hopeless. Look to your left."

Arthur turned left and saw the door to the simulation room. "Go figure." He said and walked through the door. Arthur suddenly woke up and found himself in a small room with a table, two chairs, a counter and two beds, on which had Fayt laid in it.

Arthur took of his gloves and saw the symbols on the back. "_That wasn't an ordinary dream._"

Arthur then heard an 'Aahh' coming from the doorway and a young girl carrying a pitcher in her hands. "Hello, little one." He said, smiling.

"Here's a pitcher of cold water." The girl said, placing the pitcher on the counter near the bed Arthur laid in then yelled, "Niklas!"

A young boy older than the girl entered the room and looked at Arthur. "Oh, I see you're awake too, sir. You were talking in your sleep as well. Are you alright?"

"Yes in a way." Arthur said. "So you rescued us? I owe you my life."

The boy, Niklas shook his head. "No, I just carried you here. It was my sister, Meena who insisted three days ago."

"We've been sleeping for three days? Anyway, I'm grateful to both of you. I apologize if I caused and trouble."

"It's alright, mister." Meena said.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Arthur Black." Arthur said.

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Niklas and this is my little sister Meena. We found you and your friend Fayt collapsed in the forest."

"Is he alright?" Arthur asked, worried.

"Yes, he is fine. Please you must rest and regain your strength."

"I am a bit tired. Okay and thank you again." Arthur said as he laid back on the bed, yawning and went to sleep.

In the morning, Arthur got up from the bed and stretched his arms. He then turned and saw Fayt waking up and getting up from his bed. "Morning, Fayt."

"Arthur! Good to see you're alright." Fayt replied. "Don't bother looking for your sword. Niklas must've taken it along with mine."

"I see. Anyway, great to see you." Arthur said. "So what did you find out?"

"When I was talking with Niklas, he asked me if we knew someone called Norton."

"Norton?"

"Yeah. I told him we didn't know anyone with that name or anything about him."

Arthur thought for a moment then looked at Fayt. "Let's check this village out. We may find out more about this Norton."

Fayt nodded and left the house with Arthur. They split up and tried asking the villagers but they were only greeted with negative replies and threats. The two met up near a sign in the village.

"These villagers are as angry as hell." Arthur said.

"Whoever this Norton guy is, he's got the people of this village scared." Fayt replied.

"I wonder why." Arthur said then read the sign. Fayt also read the sign and they were both shocked. "You gotta be kidding me. No wonder they can't stand him."

Fayt nodded. "Yeah, but I wonder why the villagers won't talk to us?"

"Why don't we ask the Village Chief? He may be able to explain." Arthur suggested.

"Then let's go." Fayt said. The two walked to a house in the corner of the village. Inside, they saw an old man wandering around a table and he noticed them.

"You must be our new arrivals, are you not?" The old man said.

"Yes, sir. We are." Arthur said.

"Are you the Village Chief of Whipple?" Fayt asked.

The old man nodded. "Indeed I am, young man."

"Could you please tell us what's going on?"

"Of course. Recently, a sinister stranger settled to the west of our village. Our Lord refuses to send soldiers to such a remote village as ours. Perhaps the stranger knows this. We have constantly been at his mercy. That is why the people here are so wary of strangers. I am sorry they are treating you so brusquely, but you must understand our situation." The old man explained.

"We understand. Thank you, sir. We apologize for the precious time we took." Arthur said.

"It is quite all right. I can tell that you two are different from this ne'er-do-well." The old man said and the two left the house and returned to Niklas and Meena's house.

Back in the house, the two saw Meena sitting down on the floor and looking at what appeared to be a broken music box. "What's that?" Fayt asked.

"It's my treasure box! Daddy gave it to me on my birthday!" Meena said, looking up at Fayt.

Niklas then walked into the room, having heard Meena's answer. "That music box was passed down through our mother's family. It is the only thing we have left from our parents. But, alas, it is broken now, and does not make a sound."

"Really? Could we have a look?" Arthur asked.

"Sure!" Meena answered, moving out of the way as Fayt knelt down and examined the box with Arthur looking behind him.

"What's causing the problem? Is it a broken piece or is something interfering with the mechanism?" Arthur asked.

"The gear box is broken." Fayt replied, looking closer at the box. He then turned to Niklas and Meena. "This shouldn't be too hard. Want us to fix this for you?"

"Really? Can you fix it, Fayt?" Meena asked, looking at Fayt.

"Can you really do that? It is an expensive music box. They told us it would cost a great deal to fix it." Niklas said.

Arthur nodded. He knew that with Vanguard III's level of technology, the parts would be expensive. However, he knew that the pod could easily replicate the parts. "If we can get our hands on the right parts, yes and I think I know where to get them." He said.

"It's a little ways from here but we'll go get them later." Fayt added.

"But we cannot ask you to do something like that for us!" Niklas protested.

"You saved our lives. This is our way of repaying you for that." Arthur said.

"Still…"

Fayt nodded. "And I'm sure that Meena wants it fixed, right?"

"Thank you… good sir." Niklas said, grateful.

"In return, could we have our swords back? We can't go through the forest and get the parts without them." Arthur asked.

"You swear you are not with Norton and his gang?"

"That we're not." Fayt replied. "What… you don't believe us?"

"No, I trust you."

"Thanks."

"But be wary. If you two are not one of Norton's gang, both of you will be in even more danger outside the village."

"I know. We'll be fine."

"Don't worry. However this Norton is, he won't be a match for the two of us." Arthur said, cockily then he looked at Fayt who shook his head with a smile in his face. Niklas walked out of the room and returned with two swords which he gave back to Fayt and Arthur.

The two quickly left the village and walked back through the forest, easily fighting the slimes after having rested enough and they soon reached the area where the pods were located. The two were welcome to an ugly surprise as Fayt's pod was stripped of its pieces.

"What? What happened? The pod's parts and equipment have been stripped." Fayt shouted as Arthur walked back to his and was greeted by the same sight as his pod was stripped as well.

"You're not the only one." Arthur said as Fayt checked both damaged pods. "Something tells me Norton and his crew are behind this."

"Maybe." Fayt said then he stood up and looked at Arthur. "Well, there's no use staying here doing nothing. Let's head back to Whipple."

The two walked through the forest back to the village with a frown in their faces. They returned to the village, walking back to Niklas and Meena's house then entered it to see them both surprised and relieved.

"Fayt! Arthur!" Meena shouted, running towards both of them.

"Hello there!" Fayt greeted.

"What a relief, you two are well! Norton's gang was lurking around the forest in the direction you two left in. We were worried." Niklas explained.

"Talk about being lucky." Arthur said, sighing.

"Niklas… Could you tell us more about Norton and his gang? Who are they?" Fayt asked and the room went silent. Niklas and Meena had nervous look in their faces then Niklas nodded.

"Very well. I'll tell you but I do not know everything myself. He…Norton appeared suddenly in our village about half a year past. He ordered the village to supply him with food. Of course, we refused at first. The village needs it supplies to survive the harsh winter. Norton was in fact ordering the village to die… But when people refused him, he called upon this mysterious light, and those it touched disappeared, one after the other! Carl, Sirin, Kurt… All gone. And our father, who resisted until the very end. Of course we told our lord, but he said the idea of people disappearing into thin air was nonsense, and didn't want to hear about it. Now some of the villagers have even joined Norton's gang!" As Niklas finished explaining, there was a sad expression in his eyes.

"No wonder you guys are so wary of us." Arthur said.

"A mysterious light that makes people disappear?" Fayt wondered and thought for a bit then he looked at Niklas. "Niklas… when you first met me, you asked me about my clothes and ears, right?"

"Ah, yes. Norton wore clothes made out of strange material that was neither linen nor cotton, just like the clothes you wear. And his ears were shaped like yours. That's why I did not trust you two at first. I apologize."

"Don't worry about it."

"Fayt's right. Let bygones be bygones." Arthur replied, grinning.

Fayt was in deep thought and Arthur knew why, only he was sure of it. Norton was an off worlder like them.

"Is… something the matter?" Niklas asked, worried.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking..." Fayt said as he shook his head then stared at Meena. "I'm really sorry, but it's going to take us a little more time to fix your music box. Can you wait just a little longer?"

"Okay." Meena agreed, smiling.

"That thing Norton's gang carried off… That big metal thing, did it belong to you?" Niklas asked, curious.

"No! We thought it might be ours but it wasn't. Don't worry; we'll fix the music box." Arthur said, a bit nervously.

"Niklas! I'm hungry! Let's eat!" Meena said.

"Ah, yes… Very well, let us eat." Niklas said. Fay helped Meena set the table while Arthur helped Niklas with the cooking. They then ate at the table then helped clean it. After that, Fayt and Arthur returned to their rooms and went to sleep.

* * *

In a ship somewhere in space, two people walked through the hallway until they reached a room. Inside was a young girl in nearly black clothing laying in the bed and the two people looked over her. "What's her status?" A female voice asked.

"She's fine ma'am. The girl's resting for the moment." Another female voice replied as the girl woke up and got up on the bed. "Look, captain. She's awake."

"I can see that, Marietta." The captain replied then looked at the girl. "Don't worry. You're inside our ship. We found your pod in space."

"Umm, thanks." Iris said as she looked at the two people.

"What's your name?" Marietta asked.

"I'm Iris. Iris Black." Iris replied.

* * *

Back at Vanguard III, Fayt woke up the next morning. He looked over to Arthur and saw that he was having another nightmare and walked over to him. "Arthur, wake up." He said as he nudged him.

Arthur suddenly woke up, screaming. He breathed heavily then looked at Fayt. "Morning! I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Are you all right? You were having another nightmare." Fayt said, worried.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Arthur said and Fayt left the room. He got up from the bed and stretched his arms when Fayt walked back into the room.

"Arthur, do you know where Niklas is?" Fayt asked.

"No idea. I just woke up. Remember?" Arthur replied.

"Oh, right." Fayt said and then changed the subject. "I don't know why but I have a bad feeling that Niklas is-"

"Looking for the pod parts?" Arthur said, finishing Fayt's sentence.

"Yeah, but where?" Fayt asked.

"I heard yesterday that Norton's gang has a hideout in some ruins nearby called the Ruins of Coffir. We just leave the village and take a dirt trail to the right to get there." Arthur said, remembering from the game where the ruins are.

"Then let's go." Fayt said and the two left the village for the Ruins of Coffir.

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Another chapter up. Please leave a review or a constructive criticism. 


	4. Saving One, Saving All

**Sorry, I took so long. Here's the next chapter.**

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**Saving One, Saving All**

Fayt and Arthur finally arrived at the Ruins of Coffir, having arrived to find Niklas and possibly save him from Norton. "We're here. Now where do we go?" Arthur asked.

"Let's go this way." Fayt said. The two ventured through the ruins, fighting thieving scumbags and living mushrooms that attacked with spores. As they where searching for Niklas' whereabouts, Arthur and Fayt noticed some graffiti numbers on the walls. While Fayt paid the numbers no mind, Arthur remembered that the numbers were a password and kept the information for later. They finally found the hideout after searching for half a day.

"Looks like we found his lair." Fayt said as Arthur walked to the door and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.

"The door's locked. Let's go search the back and see if there's another entrance." Arthur said.

Fayt nodded and the two walked around the building through the left route. They were then greeted by three Vanguardians with mean glares in their faces when they arrived, standing in the route, guarding it. One of them saw the two and walked over to them. "Who are you, kids and what'd ya want? This here's Lord Norton's turf, so beat it, or else!"

"We don't want to fight you guys. We just want to know if you've seen a little boy around here?" Fayt said, hoping to avoid a fight.

"He's been gone since morning and we think he came here." Arthur added.

"A little boy?" The lackey asked then placed his hand on his forehead as if he was recalling something from memory then he smirked. "Oh, you mean Niklas. Yeah, he came 'round here, blabberin' 'bout getting somethin' back, and wantin' to see Lord Norton."

"Then what did he do?" Fayt asked, worried about the answer.

"Being the kind-hearted fellas we are, we gave the stupid kid what he wanted. I bet Lord Norton's reeducatin' the undisciplined lil' brat right now." The three lackeys then chuckled to themselves, amused.

"What?" Fayt and Arthur gasped at the same time.

"It's the kid's own fault. Nothing good can come from messin' with Lord Norton. Don't worry, he'll learn it's better to join us than fight us! It's a shame, the apple don't fall far from the tree. Idiocy must run in the family."

"You rotten little…!" Fayt growled as he tried to charge at the lackey but he raised his dagger the instant Fayt moved.

"Whoa there, didn't I say ya can't pass through here? Wanna see that brat, you got to beat us first!" The lackey said as the other two raised their daggers.

"You punks! What gives you the right?"

"Looks like we got two more villages idiots in need of education!"

"Us? Need education?" Arthur said then scoffed. "I think it's you three who needs to be educated." The two then drew their swords and charged at the three. Fayt made a charge attack, tackling the lackey who talked then slashed at him while Arthur dodged an attack from a second lackey, parried the attack from another then slashed at his leg. The lackey leader reeled from Fayt's charge and furiously made stabbing motions at him but Fayt easily dodged the attack then retaliated with an aerial overhead cut, injuring the lackey's arm. Arthur kicked the second lackey away then charged at the third one, hitting him with his shoulder and knocked him out near the entrance. He then saw the second one trying to run away but Arthur caught up to him, hit him with the hilt of his sword then lifted him up and threw him to the unconscious lackey, landing on top of him. Fayt dodged another attack from the lackey leader, parried a wild thrust sent at him then charged at the lackey, tackling him on top of the other two. The lackey leader moaned before losing consciousness.

"So Niklas is locked up somewhere in here. We better hurry up and find him." Fayt said.

"Okay, let's go." Arthur said as Fayt went inside the mansion. He then looked back at the three lackeys. "What do you know? Looks like the students became the teachers." He taunted then hurried up to catch up to Fayt inside the mansion.

Inside, the two went straight through the room and reached a fork. Arthur looked to his right, knowing it was the password room. "I think I see a bright light coming from the east route, Fayt." He said, pretending to have just noticed it now.

"Let's go check it out." Fayt said and the two walked down the east route, entered the room and found themselves in what appeared to be a room from an advanced world. Fayt noticed this then thought for a moment. "Hmm… So this Norton guy's an offworlder, too. Wonder what he's doing here?"

"Who knows, Fayt? Anyway, look what I found." Arthur said as Fayt turned and saw him sat down in front of a computer then walked over to him.

Fayt saw the screen then nodded. "This looks like a screen for entering a password and it looks like it's asking for a three digit number."

A loud beep was then heard and a message appeared on the screen. "Welcome to the Password Entry Screen! I'm your guide, Boss Norton, so you'd better be thankful! I mean it! You enter the password here, but remember, you only get three chances! If you make three mistakes, then you're through! I'll kick you outta here! So you better be ready! But hey, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give you a little hint! The secret number are located somewhere in these ruins! Just type those in! Even an idiot like you should be able to do that. So come on, enter the password!"

"This guy was more 'generous' than I thought." Arthur said, sarcastically then he looked at Fayt. "I guess that explains what those numbers were for."

"Does that mean you know what the secret numbers are?" Fayt asked.

"Sure, I do. This will be easy and quick." Arthur said as he pressed numbers two, five and six on the keyboard. Suddenly, a loud click was emanated from the hall and Arthur looked at Fayt, grinning. "Told you."

"I think I heard a door open somewhere. Good work, Arthur."

"Anytime, Fayt." The two went running straight out of the room, through a hall and into a large room. Inside looked like a cell room but Fayt and Arthur ran to one particular cell were a young boy laid inside.

Fayt started shaking the bars, trying and hoping to get Niklas' attention. "Niklas! You okay?"

"Get up, kid." Arthur said, worried.

Niklas slowly raised his head up then saw both Fayt and Arthur. "Fayt… Arthur… why are you two here?"

"That's what I want to ask you! You should never have run off like that!" Fayt scolded, looking at Niklas.

"Why did you do that, Niklas?" Arthur asked, even though he knew the answer.

"The music box parts… I wanted to get them back. I… I could not ask you two to do this for us."

"But that's crazy!" Fayt shouted.

"It is dangerous here! You two… must leave, quickly! He'll… get you!" Niklas said then he fell down, his head slamming the ground.

"Niklas? Hang in there, Niklas!" Fayt yelled as he banged the bars.

"Must leave…" Niklas said before drifting into unconsciousness.

"This is bad… We better hurry…"

"I know but what are we gonna do? Blow these bars away with the communicator?" Arthur said, banging on the bars.

"Good thinking, Arthur. I could short the battery in my communicator or," Fayt stopped then looked at Arthur. "Wait. We might be stuck here if I lose my communicator."

Arthur looked at Fayt and was about to answer when Niklas faintly called to Meena. Arthur then shook his head. "Fayt! There's no time!"

"You're right, Arthur. What am I thinking? Hold on, Niklas. I'll get you out." Fayt said as he knelt down and messed with the communicator, causing it to short-circuit. The two then ran out of the way and the communicator exploded, breaking the barred door. The two then rushed into the cell. "Hang in there, Niklas!" Fayt called out as Arthur checked Niklas and saw that he was unconscious.

"He looks okay." Arthur said, concerned.

"He doesn't seem to be badly hurt… That's a relief." Fayt said as he and Arthur heard faint sounds coming from Niklas that they were unable to understand and took them both by surprise. "I forgot that there was a translator built inside the communicator. No time for regrets, now. We better get out of here." He added as he picked up Niklas and Arthur walked beside him. "Let's go."

Arthur nodded and the two started moving when they were surprised by a loud voice that shouted, "Freeze!" Fayt laid Niklas back down in the cell as Arthur stood back and a shot hit the wall right next to the cell. Then as Fayt was walking, another shot was fired at some boxes. "No funny moves if you wanna stay alive. Play nice and I'll let you live a little longer."

"That was a phase gun. So you must be Norton."

"Yeah, that's me. I am Norton the Great! Ah, it's so nice to hear genuine Terran being spoken, eh? Seems like ages."

Fayt took a peek and saw a man with tan skin, crew-cut blonde hair wearing a leather trench coat and carrying what looked like a phase rifle. "Why are you here? You're not from this planet, are you?"

"I'm from Rezerb, boy. We're not part of the Federation." Norton replied.

"Rezerb… I've heard of that world. Right, that planet filled with joy-seekers that keeps rejecting Federation membership." Fayt commented.

"So why are you here on this underdeveloped planet?" Arthur asked.

Norton shrugged as he began explaining what happened. "Not much to tell… I …was involved in this er…unfortunate accident. Guess it was a bit much even for Rezerb. So I was sentenced to spend the rest of my days in exile on a deserted planet. But… The escort ship they were transporting me on had engine trouble and ended up crash landing here. Can ya believe it? All I had to do was mess with their engine codes. Those stupid pilots ended up frying their engines! Ohhh, man! All I was trying to do was create a distraction so I could make my escape. But…we ended up crashing, and this planet's become my prison."

"And the others, Norton!?" Fayt asked.

"Huhhh?" Norton said, offended then fired a warning shot. "That's 'Lord Norton' to you!"

"There must've been others. What happened to the other people on the escort ship?" Arthur asked.

"Oh, those guys? They're dead, the poor fools. They were trying to send out a distress signal and a bolt of lighting smote 'em where they stood. Bam! Heh heh! That crash part was unfortunate. But no use crying over spilt milk… I've been devoting myself to making this planet my kingdom. Ya get my drift?"

"I'm sure you're just filled with sympathy, aren't you?" Arthur said, sarcastically.

"So that's why you've been raiding Whipple?" Fayt asked.

"Yeah, something like that. You're a smart kid. That's why I've been raiding the village, and that's why you two gotta die. Sorry! You'll be happy to know I'm gonna make the most of those parts I stripped from yer escape pods." Norton said as he cocked the rifle and readied it when Fayt walked out with a blue light emanating from his head.

"It's guys like you…" Fayt growled as Arthur walked out as well, eager to see what's going to happen next.

"Huh? What the?" Norton said as he was surprised by the glow and Arthur was taken aback to what he was witnessing. "_Fayt's anger is causing his power to manifest! If 'he' doesn't arrive soon, Norton's going to be nothing more than dust in the wind._"

"Ah, there you are. I thought I lost you when your distress signal went out. Might have never found you if it weren't for those explosions." A voice in the distance said as a muscular man with blonde hair wearing a leather black vest with a shirt underneath, leather black pants and black leather gloves walked into the room.

"What do you want? You're not one of those Federation guys, are ya?" Norton asked, wary of the stranger as he aimed his rifle at him.

"Who, me? A Federation soldier? Ha, yeah, that's a good one!" The man said, amused.

"Well then, who are ya?"

"Cliff Fittir, a Klausian and member of Quark."

"A K-Klausian?" Norton said, choked up.

"Sorry, no time to explain. I'm kinda in a hurry. Just lemme have Fayt, that Earthling boy over there with the blue hair and I'll be on my way. I don't plan on butting into whatever ya got going on over here."

"You'll take me too, right?" Arthur asked, hoping that Cliff wouldn't leave him behind.

"Who are you? A friend of Fayt's? I might as well take you to safety." Cliff said.

"That's Arthur. So tell me how do you know my name?" Fayt asked.

"Let's not sweat the details. Suffice it to say, you're my man." Cliff replied.

"Hold it right there or I'll blast ya!" Norton yelled, aiming his gun at Cliff.

"Huh? You talking to me?" Cliff asked.

"You think you can fool me? There's no way a Klausian would come here! You're probably some sorta spy. It's so obvious!" Norton cackled.

"Come on! No one's that clueless!" Arthur groaned.

"Look, since I'm such a nice guy, I'm gonna fill you in on a little secret." Cliff said smugly and walked a bit closer to Norton. "That gun you have there has no effect on us Klausians. You didn't know that?"

"Shut yer piehole!" Norton shouted as he shot at Cliff with the rifle but his shots missed as Cliff was moving so fast, that he stopped right in Norton's face and gave him a left jab, taking the wind out of him.

"Now that that's over with, let's get out of here." Cliff said when the three heard the rifle cocked and they dove out of the way of the shots.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Norton shouted as he was in a frenzy and shot at Cliff. Fayt charged at Norton and surprised him with a vertical slash, cutting his arm. Norton retaliated; pushing Fayt away with the rifle then aimed and shot him. Fayt avoided the shots and charged at Norton who smirked and aimed his rifle at Fayt when he was kicked to the ground by Arthur who lifted up his sword to cleave him. Norton rolled away from the blade, got up and shot at the two who dodged the shots when Norton was dropped kicked to the ground by Cliff.

"Hope you didn't forget about me." Cliff said as Norton got up and he roundhouse kicked the rifle from Norton's hands. With great strength and speed, Cliff gave Norton a right jab then a left hook, a right uppercut then finished by jumping up and drop kicking Norton to the ground.

"No… This is my… kingdom. I made this kingdom." Norton screamed as he weakly got up then he fell over, unconscious. Arthur and Fayt had been staring at Cliff in awe as he knelt down to check Norton.

"Looks like I overdid it a bit. Should've held back a bit." Cliff said as he took out something from Norton's pocket then threw one at Fayt and another at Arthur. "These are about the only things that still work. The rest is ruined. …Here."

Fayt looked over the object and knew it was a communicator. "Is this …a communicator?"

"Can't live without one! I can't figure out why you wouldn't have one with you."

"It's a really funny story." Arthur said as he looked over the communicator he got. "Although I can't figure out why Norton had two communicators with him."

"Ahh… Umm… Thanks for getting us out of this mess. You saved our lives." Fayt said, grateful to Cliff.

"Whoa there. Don't go thanking me yet. Ya see, I've come to abduct you." Cliff said.

"What?" Fayt exclaimed.

"Of course and here I thought you came here to help us out of this mess from the kindness in your heart." Arthur complained sarcastically.

"Now don't get all worked up… I'm not going to hurt anybody. It's just my boss wants to meet you, Fayt. That's why I came all the way out here to find you. But I never expected that you'd have a friend here and now I gotta take him with me as well."

"Boss… you mean Quark's boss?" Fayt asked.

"That's right. Our leader wants to see you. But you've sure made it a tough job. First, I went to Hyda and ran into that mess, thanks to you. Then, I get here and find you poking your nose into matters better left alone…"

"You make it sound like it was my fault Hyda got attacked, geez." Fayt yelped, complaining.

"He's right! It's not like they were after Fayt." Arthur said.

"…Just kidding, don't sweat it. At any rate, I got you now. And I did rescue you and decided to bring Arthur here with us, so no complaining. And besides, you wanna see your old man, don't you? He's been captured by the Vendeeni."

"Dad? But why?" Fayt asked, shocked.

"Hey, don't ask me. All I know is your old man was abducted from the Evacuation Facility on Hyda."

"Something tells me that our problems are just beginning." Arthur said, rubbing his forehead.

"What about my mother …and Sophia?" Fayt asked.

"Well, we know your mom's safe. She should've already arrived at Remote Station six. I don't know about the girl. I've had my hands full just trying to track down your escape pod." Cliff explained.

"At least I know my sisters are safe." Arthur said, relieved.

"…How do you know about all about this? What else do you know?" Fayt asked.

"Not much else… sorry. Oh yeah, I do know what yer old man Dr. Leingod, was researching."

"You mean symbological genetics? My dad's an authority in that field, so it's no surprise you've heard of him."

"Right, symbological genetics. And nineteen years ago… Ah, never mind. That doesn't matter right now."

Fayt and Arthur looked at Cliff suspiciously when he changed the subject. "What are you hiding, Cliff?" Arthur asked.

"C'mon! You two don't have any other way off this planet, do ya? Look, I'm sure things will clear up if you two just come with me. Besides, you'll be able to see yer old man again."

"But according to you, my father's been capture by Vendeen. So how could I possibly see him?" Fayt asked, unconvinced.

"Simple! Quark'll go rescue your old man, too."

Fayt began thinking about the proposition. Arthur looked at Fayt and said, "The last thing we need is to be stuck here, Fayt. Besides, we can go rescue your dad, find your mother, Sophia and my sisters."

Fayt nodded. "Okay… We'll go with you. But could we stop by Whipple first? We want to make sure the boy gets back there safely."

"Sure, whatever. I still think you shouldn't have gotten involved."

"Let's go get the music box parts first, Fayt." Arthur said.

The three walked back to the computer room. Inside, Fayt replicated the parts then looked at the unconscious Niklas. "I promise. I won't let your efforts go to waste."

"That was a pretty brave thing, Niklas did." Arthur said.

"You done? Okay, I'm gonna blow the place up." Cliff said as he walked to the computer and activated the self destruct. "Okay, we have only a few minutes before this place explodes."

"Then let's go." Arthur said and the three quickly left the hideout. As soon as they got out, the entrance was caved in.

Cliff looked back at the caved in entrance, smiling. "There, everything's back to normal, huh?"

"You're wrong, things aren't back to normal. Niklas and Meena's parents are gone forever." Fayt said and left with Arthur while Cliff threw his arms up in a submissive manner.

The three arrived at the forest near the village entrance in the afternoon. Cliff then stopped and looked at the two. "Finish up quick and get back here. I'll be waiting for you two."

"Okay." Fayt said.

"Don't keep me waiting too long, kids!"

"Yes, sir." Arthur said.

Arthur and Fayt then entered the village as Cliff waited near the bushes as to not attract attention. When the two entered the town, they saw a few of the villagers gathered near Meena's house. They suddenly turned around and saw Fayt carrying an unconscious Niklas and Arthur. "Niklas! Niklaaas!" Meena screamed as she ran over to them and Fayt placed Niklas down in front of her. "I don't care about the music box! I care about my brother! My brother…"

"Don't worry, he's just asleep. He wouldn't leave you alone, Meena." Fayt said, reassuring her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. He'll be fine." Arthur said.

The four then went inside the house. Fayt placed Niklas on a bed then left the room, leaving Meena to look over him. Arthur just managed to fix the music box as Fayt walked out of the room. "Is it fixed?" Fayt asked.

Arthur nodded. "Yeah, now it's time for us to go. But first we should visit the village chief to let him know about Norton."

Fayt nodded and the two left the house. They walked towards the village chief's house when they heard an argument n the other side of the fence between a harsh young woman and a cowed man about their decision of joining Norton. When it was over, the two looked at each other. "We just witnessed a woman's fury. Remember that even the most beautiful roses have thorns." Arthur said.

"I'll keep that in mind. Let's meet the village chief then meet with Cliff."

"After you."

The two entered the village chief's house and explained the chief about Norton's defeat. "So you have rid us of Norton. You are our saviors and we are truly grateful." The chief said.

"No need. We we're just repaying you for allowing us to stay in the village." Arthur said.

"Now don't be so modest. Oh, yes. Will you not take this as a token of our gratitude?" The chief said as he took out a small shiny rock from his pocket and offered it to them.

"We can't take this, sir." Fayt said, shaking his head.

"No, I insist. It is a charm passed down through the generations in our village. It is called Medecentra Pyroxene." The chief said, offering the stone again. Fayt reluctantly took the stone and pocketed it.

The two then left the house then the village and were greeted by Cliff who had been waiting under some trees this time. "You two ready?"

"Yeah." Fayt said.

"Now it's time to go." Arthur replied.

"Alright. Now, you remember that cliff near your escape pods? Our way out lies beyond there. Let's go!"

"Okay."

The three trekked through the forest quickly, having an easier time with the slime monsters they encountered now that Cliff was with the two. They soon made it to the cliff then Cliff used his communicator and opened a comm. link. "Hey, it's me. We're at the location. Transport us up as soon as you can. Hmm? Oh, no problem. I got him and he had a friend so expect one more passenger. …I said it's okay. I haven't done anything. Yeah, I know. Now hurry up and get us outta here."

Cliff broke contact then walked over to Fayt and Arthur. "My ship'll be here soon. Once we're ready, it's good riddance to this hunk 'o rock. My ship's not so big but it's packing a gravitic warp engine. …It's quite the speed demon."

"Hey, Cliff." Fayt said.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you…"

"What's that?"

"Why does Quark's leader want to meet with me? I'm just a college student from Earth!"

"Fayt has a good point." Arthur replied.

"Oh… um… 'no comment?' Heh. That's… that's not doing it for you, isn't it?" Cliff said sheepishly.

"No, it's not."

"Nice try, but no cigar."

"Let's see, well… I guess the biggest reason would be… Our leader wants to chat with you?"

"Come on, that's avoiding the question, cliff." Arthur said.

"Why does your leader want to meet with me?" Fayt asked.

"Hey, how should I know? I just do what I'm told. There's probably something our leader wants to talk to you about."

"And that 'something' is…" Fayt asked, aggravated.

"Well… You'll just have to come with me and find out for yourselves. Sorry kids but I don't know much more than that." Cliff explained.

Arthur shook his head then looked up at the sky. "_Cliff's sure good at avoiding the subject. I guess I really am just along for the ride._"

Cliff's ship soon arrived at the scene then Fayt and Cliff looked up. Cliff was then transported to the ship then Fayt and finally Arthur. Inside, they were greeted by a tall woman with long blonde hair tied in two braids wearing clothes similar to Cliff's except she was wearing short pants. "Welcome back."

"Sorry to keep ya waitin'." Cliff said then turned to the two. "This is my navigator and partner in crime. I leave the day to day operation of the ship to her. Mirage, this is our target and his passenger."

The woman, Mirage smiled as Fayt found himself staring at her. "Yes, I knew right away. Nice to meet you, Fayt."

"N-nice to meet you, too." Fayt stammered.

"So you must be Fayt's friend. It's nice to meet you as well." Mirage said.

"Likewise." Arthur replied.

"I'm sure you can be more open than that. There's no need to be shy or afraid of what you're going to say." Mirage said and walked back to the cockpit as Arthur stared at her, surprised.

"Come on, you two. Let's go sit down so we can leave this planet." Cliff said and the two shook out of their thoughts then followed him to their seats. They sat down then were strapped down by some belts that Arthur noticed were similar to those in roller coaster rides then the ship blasted off.

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Please leave a review or constructive criticism. 


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